A Heart for the Hole: A Grimmjow and Kein Story
by Dracomancer
Summary: With Aizen captured, the war having come to an end, the training and fighting has only just begun between two warrior spirits as Kein has convinced Grimmjow to let her come back with him to Hueco Mundo under a constant game of hunter and prey.
1. Breaking in the Mold

This fanfic is entirely dedicated to the focus on the building warrior _friendship_, and inevitable relationship between my Bleach OC, Kein Marasuna and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. This fanfic will be _absolutely legit to the story_ going thus far for my Bleach Fanfiction Series. It takes place after the war with Aizen and just before the Fullbring Arc _and_ my Bleach Movie Fanfic "_Fragments of the Past_".

I know I know, you guys are probably thinking it odd that I'm writing BACKWARDS in how Grimmjow and Kein ultimately forge their very strange and warrior like relationship, considering my Bleach Fanfiction Series is at the part where Ichigo and company enter Hueco Mundo to save Orihime, but xD I can't help it _ I only write what I'm inspired to write. ^^; I know, I'm a dork. But it'll be a nice change to read something not as emotionally heavy set like my GrimmIchi fic _"Behind Closed Doors"_ that most of you have been reading (and yes I'm still working on it simultaneously).

This new fanfic covers every single detail and moment, or at least most of them, that eventually lead to what it will result to that is at various moments read in "_Fragments of the Past_". This new fanfic, even if its posted before my next few Bleach segments are done, will help explain _a lot_ not only about Kein, but also about Grimmjow that a lot of people seem to be confused in or misunderstanding when in relation to the Sexta Espada. And it won't spoil anything too major in the still progressing Bleach fiction series I have going.

**Side Note**: For those who are _new_ to my Bleach fanfiction series, you might want to at least read up on Kein's character profile before reading this otherwise quite a bit of it might confuse you if you don't plan on reading from the beginning of the series. It can be found on my deviantart gallery under the username DragonKeeper333. Go into the Bleach folder and you'll see the deviation titled "Bleach OC- Kein Marasuna".

**Breaking in the Mold**

…_moonlight_…

The crescent shaped white gem shined down upon the landscape as the ground shimmered like diamonds against a blackened canopy that stretched over the Hollow grounds.

…_tornados_…

Silent giants that spun at tremendous speeds, picking up debris and anything that was loose and disconnected as it gathered into a spinning pool of white blur for only a moment of time before dying again and fading into the sands.

…_silence_…

Of all the things that were abundant in this sandy wasteland, _silence_ was the largest of them all, but amongst this silence existed two solitary beings as they took residence and began their elongated retrieve of training and fighting that seemed infinite in nature…endless…like the still towering buildings of Lose Noches…endless…like the number of Hollows that continued to devour and be devoured in the foregrounds underneath the sleeping giant that was Hueco Mundo. With Aizen and his army of Espadas gone, the sandy giant was now left to anything that lived in its purgatory existence.

However, what would seem like a hushed torture to some, brought about tranquility to another. For those who were used to being in the midst of noise and distraction could find this soundless place quite peaceful with nothing to bother them and nothing to get in their way. For those who were tired of being around invariable company with little space to themselves, they would find an abundance of open liberty to claim their own. Most importantly, to those who were born warriors and continue to live as warriors would find Hueco Mundo the perfect training ground if they bore _any_ type of Hollow powers.

For Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the Sexta Espada, this was _home_ where he was born and where he was formed and _made_ for battle. Bloodlust has no control. And if there was anything that Grimmjow had, was _control_. Sadism and violence go hand in hand, but Grimmjow did not display either one as frequently as one would interpret upon first impressions.

Maybe he came off as a monster and vicious to those who did not understand him, but from the perspective of a fellow warrior, Kein Marasuna, she understood him probably better then he understood himself. Grimmjow was not passionate for violence as one would believe. He simply _appeared_ violent because he naturally displayed a power that many would be overwhelmed with and feared, not truly understanding.

He didn't punch through cement walls like they were butter because he was violent. He punched through cement walls like they were butter because of his _power_ and _abilities_. No, Grimmjow had the true spirit of a warrior even if he displayed it in the strangest ways. There is a large difference between _desiring_ to fight and _needing_ to fight.

Nnoitra _needed_ to fight in _bloodlust_ so that he could fulfill his desire to die in a _violent glorious death_. And so he continuously killed and slaughtered even if the enemy was weak or of his own kind, but where was the point in that? That is not Grimmjow. Grimmjow is a _hunter_, a natural born predator. Hunters seek out only _one_ prey at a time and they continue to chase the prey until they are satisfied, but the prey can't just be anything or anyone.

No, Grimmjow sought out to fight someone who not only who had the same passion for battle as him, but brought out the best of his abilities, forced him to survive and forced him to give everything he had. Hunters have patience of a saint in their search for the right prey, but when the prey is found, they never let go until the hunt is _over_. Kein was his prey, and Kein would continue to be his prey as long she provided a sporting game, as long as she desired to fight him and display her powers without mental boundaries or excuses. It took three fights to force her to show her full potential and he would continue to push her relentlessly to that point, _even if it killed her_. He filled her need just as she filled his. It was a yin-yang union through battle.

But this was not bloodlust. This was not violence. This was _instinct_ and _desire_ in its purest form. This is what drove Grimmjow and _this_…is what Kein loved most.

Kein Marasuna, born a Human, died a Human, lived as a Shinigami, quit as a Shinigami, and then…turned rogue. Through her adventures she had faced many enemies, like Grimmjow, and had to face many situations that forced her to find ways to survive. She was betrayed by Soul Society for having Hollow powers when they sentenced her to death, just as Grimmjow and the other Espadas were betrayed by Aizen when the now bound and captured Ex-Shinigami captain claimed he didn't _need_ them anymore. The two warriors were all too familiar with survival and betrayal.

And they were also all too familiar with the search for just the right opponent, just the right prey to truly bring out their potential and to truly wield their passion for battle. This was the way of the warrior; to live life fighting and to die fighting gloriously as Nnoitra claimed, but not lost in bloodlust and not lost in endless violence, but through discipline, training, and display of power with an equal of choice and fairness in fighting and not holding back.

Despite Grimmjow's defiance under Aizen's rule and despite his constant display of _not giving a shit_, he had a code in never fighting his opponent unless they were at full strength otherwise what would be the point in killing them or even fighting them? It would be a waste of a battle and a waste of power.

No, Hueco Mundo is not hell. It was _paradise_.

This is the perfect training ground for warriors without any interruption or flicker of distraction. There were no citizens in the way to be accidentally harmed and no buildings or cities that could be damaged as collateral. This was all the two warriors wanted and this was all they needed…_for now_.

_Cero_

The blazing attack flared through the air and landed harshly upon Kein's chest. The attack sent her flying backwards as she plummeted against a wall, nearly cracking it from impact as she hit the ground below with a hardened thud. She panted and heaved for a breath, wrapping an arm around her stomach from sore ribs from an earlier wave of punches to her abdomen. They had been fighting for at least an hour or more and they had been training for at most a week, but she was not fighting with her Vizard mask or her Zanpakutou's powers. No, it was not _allowed_. Grimmjow had confiscated her weapon upon first arrival to Hueco Mundo after she had finally convinced him to let her come with him back home to the home of the Hollows. Although it didn't take much convincing as Kein had imagined.

Grimmjow under an honest notion was actually eager to be fighting her yet again, never imagining his last fight with Kein ended up being only but a warm up for _things to come_, however Grimmjow was not a guy to have tagalongs. He had Fraccion before, but that was different. They followed him because they wanted him as their king and naturally submitted to him, but Kein followed for _different_ reasons, some of those reasons he already understood.

However, there were _other_ reasons that he still wasn't sure of and because he wasn't sure of all her intentions it bothered him like a splinter stuck under your skin. And so in agreeance with him allowing her to stay with him in order to battle with him continuously, she had to give up her Zanpakutou and start from square one of survival tactics…_his_ survival tactics.

With his last fight with her, he truly awed in the strangeness and variety of her powers and fighting style, but so much of it needed to be _refined_. So much of it was _full of holes_, no pun intended, that needed to be filled, and naturally he saw _himself_ to be the key to filling those holes. She was willing and he was instantly domineering in her submission.

And yes, he would make her regret her decision in coming with him, not out of some misplaced sadism, but because if he was going to continue to have her as his prey seeing as there was no one else willing to do so, he was at least going to get a _little enjoyment_ out of it even if it meant beating her to a pulp as she so deliciously from time to time loved to dish out on him when given the chance. Her time would come however, when she would be given the privilege of raining down a proper beat down upon the jawboned Espada, but she had to _earn_ that privilege first through blood, sweat, and maybe even tears.

Sitting idly against the wall, she heard Grimmjow's heavy striding footsteps draw nearer to her. Each sounding step sent a small chill up her spine as she struggled to get up, blood trickling down her chin from the corner of her mouth, her clothing beaten and tattered.

Speaking of clothing, she wasn't wearing her usual outfit of black robbing with blue stripes that looked similar to a Shinigami's uniform. She was wearing _left over_ Arrancar clothing that was left behind after the war with Aizen and that had gone untouched. She didn't want to ruin the only outfit she ever kept that signified her nonconformity against the Shinigami uniforms, but also her signified meaning of her willing choice to become a rogue in defiance let alone the personal likings of just the outfit itself, and so she took up adorning herself in Arrancar clothing.

The outfit was simple enough, but one she rather liked. It was a jacket top that was closed at the front in a v-neck shape with an unfolded collar that only went half way up the neckline. The sleeves stopped at the bottom of the bicep with inverted angled v-cuts.

There was a diamond shaped panel that went in the middle of her chest as the rest of the jacket was tucked under a black belt like Grimmjow's and then stopped around the upper thighs, splitting in the front and curving down and around the buttocks. Below the belt was flat paneled pants similar to Nelliel's and shaped like bell bottoms, flaring out at the shoes.

There was a long rectangular panel that hung from under the middle of the belt and ended in a triangular sharp shape. A similar one was adorned on the other side. The shoes themselves were regular Arrancar boots while she retained the black gloves from her original outfit for better gripping since they were made of leather.

Grimmjow personally found it ironically amusing that she was in these garments considering that she was a hybrid of sorts being merged body and soul with an actual Arrancar. It was almost teasing in a sense, making him smile at the thought that a Shinigami had nearly become an Arrancar. The bitter irony was so sweet he could taste it.

"You may look like an Arrancar, but you sure as hell don't _act like one_. You're pathetic," he stated with a purposely harsh biting tone as he finally approached her, hands in his pockets and towering over her with his shadow.

Using the wall as leverage, she slowly and finally got herself to her feet, chuckling lightly as she replied,

"I-I'll take that as a…c…c-compliment."

Feeling she could stand on her own again, she lifted the weight of her back off of the wall she was leaning against as she staggered a bit to get a full stance, keeping her hands out and ready in a defensive position.

"And what the hell are you grinning about?" He asked abruptly in a rhetorical fashion as Kein's usual warrior like confident grin faded to a questioning frown.

"If you're grinning because you've convinced yourself that you've made some _progression_ then you might as well take your sorry ass and get the fuck out of my home."

Her sighing frown had merged into near shock at his statement. It was true though; she _did_ grin feel she was finally making some progression, but apparently she wasn't as much as she had hoped.

"Okay so maybe you've become a _little quicker_ with your dodging and counter responses, but none of that matters if you constantly subject yourself to _fear_. You reek of it."

Kein gasped audibly in response and near confusion. _Fear?_ Surely that wasn't the only thing she displayed in the entire week she had been here already. "I d-don't understand," she winced as a sudden sharp pain hit a fractured rib.

"Of course you don't. You lived with those damn Shinigami's far too long while they filled your head with _hey great job_'s and _hey you're doing better_'s. Makes me want to _puke_. They've never truly learned what it means to fight for your very existence. They've never had to spend day in and day out wondering when the next meal would be or what it's like scrounging for survival hoping that you never regress back into your inferior form. They don't have a damn _clue_. And all the while they've lost the ability to understand their own true frailties and how to train themselves to deal with them. You reek of frailties Marasuna and I'm going to beat them out of you until your skin is black and blue."

Kein gulped hard at the thought as it made her tremble lightly. As nice as it was to have complete and utter solitude from the interactions of the Human world or Soul Society, there was in turn no one there to help on the sidelines or as a referee. She made a choice to go with Grimmjow and there was no turning back now. Even if she did leave, the only thing she would gain is defeat and embarrassment of her own cowardice to deal with understanding herself and how to deal with the things that truly rubbed her that dug under her skin. However, despite the mental discomfort, she simultaneously desired this above anything else. If someone could teach her these things, she would be an idiot to overlook the opportunity.

She wanted Bankaguna and Ernesto to be proud to have her as their master more than anything and if this was the only way, she was going to do it, all or nothing. Furthermore, she desired above anything else to be with Grimmjow and there was nothing that would stop her now.

"You listening to me girl?"

He barked in question as her thoughts trailed back to the jawboned Espada, quickly answering him, "Yes! I'm listening. I just…I don't follow. When you talk of fears, I understand you in the general sense, but fears vary between individuals. What is it you're seeing that I'm apparently blind to?"

"_Blind_ to?"

He grinned as he approached her with heavy abrupt steps, making her want to take steps backwards but there wasn't anywhere to go considering a wall was still behind her back as she was now planted against it, Grimmjow standing but a foot in front of her as he loomed over her with a deathly glaring snide gaze. "On the contrary, this particular fear is really the _only_ fear that gets in your way, that hinders you beyond recognition. I'm going to teach you to deal with it whether you like it or not. You understand me Marasuna?"

Kein was still perplexed. _What the hell was he talking about_? And then suddenly the thought dawned on her, and it made her quiver inside like shaking of a rattlesnake's tail.

"Finally understanding? Your eyes say you do. It's that damn unfinished indented Hollow hole of yours. It may not be completely hollow through your abdomen, but every movement you make in a fight is your way of keeping your opponent from attacking that weak point. It doesn't matter what variety or style you use because it always ends up being around the same damn problem and its pathetic to watch you!"

Kein blinked in shock. He was right. He was completely and utterly right. Everything she did in battle was to avoid getting hit at her weakest point. Even if she wore protective underlying gear to help cover the area of skin, it didn't take away the hidden fear of getting attacked there. The last time she had fought Ernesto in her Inner World, he spoke over the very same thing, but Ernesto was more worried of making a point about her respecting his power then he was about teaching her to deal with her biggest weaknesses, but this was due to him also just caring about taking over her body more than anything else. He didn't give a damn if she suffered or not in battle.

Grimmjow however had _different_ intentions. He wanted to get her to the point that he could battle her without anything to get in her way. Battling an opponent that had nothing to lose was more enticing than anything. Being pushed to his limits to near breaking points enthralled his senses and he wanted to feel that again and again and Kein was that source of ecstasy for him. And until a replacement comes along, not that he was necessarily looking for one, he was going to get every drop of satisfaction from this as he could.

Besides he was deciding to do all this effort and he wasn't going to leave _empty handed_. He would dish out the pain and she was willing to subject to it. No pain no gain as they say, but despite the thought of the result he would eventually get, it was going to take a gargantuan amount of effort considering he has to mold something that has already been molded. This irritancy boiled his blood and frustrated him instantly at the thought of having to babysit an amateur warrior.

"Because your strategies all evolve around the same damn thing, it makes you predictable! If you were an Arrancar you'd be eaten alive! A laughing stock of our race!"

It took a lot to provoke Kein, but certain things just nipped at her in ways that were grating. She gritted her teeth, clenching her fists in irritancy. She was becoming a bit tired of his insults, but they spoke a truth that no one else would speak to her, that no one else could see.

"Hits a nerve doesn't it? You _should_ be angry. No, you should be in a rage at the thought of being held back by such ridiculous bullshit!"

A moment of silence passed as she felt like a child being scolded. Indeed it _did_ anger her at the thought of being held back. Actually it has _always_ angered her. She was sick of constantly trying to cover up in battle her weakest point. It distracted her from bettering herself and knowing how it frustrated Grimmjow, it made her feel less worthy of being his prey.

After meeting him for a first time on the plains of Hueco Mundo when leaving Soul Society to escape, she did everything she could to prove her worth to him and reason to take her with him back here. And now it just felt all she could display was _disappointment_. "You're right," was all she could respond with, not knowing what else to say.

"The only way to progress is to become tolerant of the pain it brings you."

The ultimatum shot through her mind like a blazing bullet as she darted her gaze into the Espada's eyes with a wild and frozen expression. She knew then what he was proposing. No, it wasn't a proposal, it was a _prerequisite_. There was no choice.

"Now wait a minute. I understand what you're saying, but this is _not_ the way to go about this. You have no idea the pain it brings me. It's _crippling_. That's why I fear it so much."

Grimmjow's lips curled in irritation as he suddenly grasped upon her neck with his left hand and pushed her almost violently back against the wall. Her hands grasped onto the arm that held her back as she was unable to move or wiggle her way out. His grip was tight enough to feel the pulsating of her heart beat through her neck as it beat faster to the surprising movement he made.

And with his right hand he slowly began to unsheathe Pantera as she watched the silver blade flicker moonlight as a panic began to erupt inside her heart until the sword was fully withdrawn and held out to the side.

"Is that a _complaint_…I hear?"

She understood he was irritated, but this felt more than just simple irritation. Was he really that angry with her? What was fueling it to make him glare at her like that? Was he angry because of her protest? No, it was something deeper that boiled in him. He wasn't angry because she was sniveling. It was because he knew the true potential she could hone if she would only stop wasting her time with one measly weak spot. It was because he knew he could get a _real_ enticing battle out of her if she'd just stop throwing away everything over that _fucking_ Hollow indentation.

Before their third battle took place, while the war with Aizen was still going on, Kein had made a deal with Grimmjow that if he let Orihime heal Ichigo back to life, then she would fight him no bars held back. And during that particular battle, he felt she kept her end of the bargain.

However, even though that battle was fierce and exhilarating and even though Kein displayed all her powers as promised, she still mentally and physically held back not because of choice but because she had accidentally taught herself to constantly strategize her attacks around avoiding getting hit in her weakest spot. It was because of this grating mishap that Grimmjow was determined to beat the fear out of her, whether she was still just a woman or not.

Taking one last moment, he quickly took his left hand and instead grasped it over her mouth. He was going to run his sword through and he wasn't particularly in the mood to listen to her stifling screams from what he was about to do.

"Get used to it, because this isn't going to be the last time you feel this," he stated with warning as he readied his blade. Then within seconds he had thrust his sword just an inch or two above her tail bone as it ran through her entirely and into the wall behind, pinning her. The blade however didn't just pierce through an area of the indentation; it ran directly through the middle of it. The sensitivity of it started on the outward part of it, being the weakest pain points, and ending at the middle of it, being its strongest pain point. He hit a direct bull's eye.

The pain was instant and excruciating. The first waves of screams burst forth from her lungs so hard that it nearly pushed away Grimmjow's hand that covered her mouth from the sheer magnitude of the exhale. Tears welled up in her eyes as she was desperate to take in a breath as Grimmjow felt the skin on his hand being sucked inward.

It was then he knew he had to let his hand go so the girl could at least breathe, instantly regretting doing so as he uncovered her mouth, her screams within seconds pouring right back out as she hunched over, one of her hands gripping tightly enough upon his blade to make it bleed, while the other hand was planted against the wall behind her, her nails digging into the rough surface as saliva mixed with blood spat from her mouth and dripped upon the ground.

The sounds emitting from her mouth mixed between moans, groans, excruciating pants, screams, and agonized sobbing. It was so bad that it took the Arrancar by complete surprise. He had been stabbed by swords before, knowing what the pain was like and it was not something he was alien to so he knew for the most part what to expect, but this? This was just…...astonishing. Was it truly that painful for her? Was it truly that tender to touch? Was this…a _mistake_?

The wandering questioning thought instantly disappeared however as he convinced himself that no…this wasn't a mistake. If she didn't learn to become numb or at least tolerant to this pain, how else was she going to survive if she ended up fighting an enemy that would use this opportune moment to just simply kill her off? But he couldn't help but grimace just a tad at the scene she was displaying at this moment.

It was almost pitiful from a warrior's perspective…but from a _bystander's_ perspective, this was more like torture. And he wasn't exactly the type of guy that enjoyed torturing his opponents like Nnoitra did. Sighing, he grasped upon the blade and quickly yanked it out from her body as she let out another yelping gasp, falling to her knees and instantly hunching over as her head dug into the sand. One of her arms wrapped around her stomach as the other was planted upon the ground, nails digging into the harsh landscape as her muscles were tensed without leeway or any signs of relaxing. Blood covered her back from being smeared upon the wall she was planted against as it also oozed out from the front of her abdomen. She was completely…

…_exasperated_…


	2. The Reason

**The Reason**

Agonized echoing screams turned to gasping yelps as gasping yelps finally faded to just numbing moans and groans as she stayed hunched over upon the sand, wanting ever so badly to just die right then and there. Her body trembled from the amount of endorphins that her body naturally produced to try to deal with the pain just above her backside.

"You'd be dead by now had you been in a real fight," he simply stated without sympathy or remorse. His statement was heard and easily ignored however as she just didn't give a shit at this point in time. She knew he wasn't going to actually kill her so she just didn't care. His statement was rather obvious anyway.

Of _course_ she would be killed in a real fight, but considering the amount of pain she was feeling, she might as well have wanted to just die just to escape feeling this at all. Seeing as how bending her back over only stretched out the wound further, she simply just slumped over on her side and curled up into a tight fetal position, constantly trying to wiggle and squirm her way out of the intensity of the mind numbing stinging ache.

Her eyes were shut tight as every muscle imaginable in her body tensed and tightened at the throbbing sensations that pulsated all over her back. Yep, training was definitely done for today. Grimmjow was a bit tired anyway considering he was beating her around for over two hours or whoever the hell knew how long they were at it. Picking up Pantera and wiping the blood off from the blade, he drew it back into its sheath as he then walked over to Kein and bent over to pick her up.

He didn't want to put her in any worse condition, but there was no other choice as he slowly began to roll her over into his arms as she yelped a few times from random movements of sharp shooting pains that shot up her sides and down her thighs. As rough and violent as he could be in a fight, he was surprisingly gentle with her as he carried her to his room that still stood intact in the hallways of Los Noches.

She gripped as tight as she could upon the front panels of his jacket as she felt the strong emitting heat from his chest. It always seemed that males were much more warm blooded than females. It was like her own personal heating pad as it brought about a strange comfort as her moans faded to simple exhausted panting, her face buried in his jacket against strong cushioned muscles. He could feel her body tremble from the sheer shock.

This wouldn't last forever though since she would be easily healed within two days tops considering her much more quickened pace of rejuvenation. Her healing rate was probably one of her biggest saving graces since Kidou didn't work on her and Orihime wasn't around to help her, but until the healing took a significant turn, Grimmjow would have to at least try to make her feel more comfortable so that she would heal as quickly as possible.

Something had to be done though. She wasn't kidding when she stated that the pain was _crippling_. He thought at first that maybe she was just exaggerating or that she was making a bigger deal of it then it actually was, but she was far from it. And he couldn't help but admit to himself that he wasn't the one actually feeling the pain so how could he truly know what to expect? This was going to take a lot longer than he originally thought if he didn't think of another way around this. Otherwise this was going to be a fucking _pain in the ass_. This wasn't exactly a surprise to Grimmjow though.

The only other females he had ever been around were the weaker Arrancars and Halibel's Fracciones, all of which were _annoying_ and _aggravating_ to deal with let alone just listen to, hence why he never was fond of the opposite sex let alone did he care to mingle with them in any shape or form.

It's not that he didn't women persay as it was more of none of the other female Arrancars kept his interest. It was one of many reasons why he usually just stayed to himself and his own business, how he usually preferred it anyway. The only females he even _remotely_ tolerated was Nelliel and Halibel as they usually just kept to themselves. It was this very same thought however that made him look at Kein in a different light.

She could be a pain in the ass, but that irritancy was balanced with her unbreakable will to keep going and to never give up. He hated wimps or anyone that threw in the towel too quick. This is one of the things he liked that made her tolerable to be around. Aside from today's set back, and for the week she had trained with him thus far, she never made any other complaint or whining.

She accepted and didn't question anything he did in order to break her of her frailties. And she never went out of her way to be defiant or aggravating. It was strange though as it acted as a double psychological paradox. Grimmjow had never gone after the same prey for an extended period of time. His hunts would usually just end briefly and most of the time unsatisfactory, but despite being unsatisfactory at least his prey put up a decent struggle. Their struggle is what helped fueled the ecstasy of the fight. There was no fun in fighting an opponent that was submitted to every notion and command. And a hunter needed to have a little fun with his prey before snuffing out its final light.

A fire rages before it is finally put out and it was a fire that Grimmjow sought from Kein and he knew he could get it from her with a little more time and effort. He didn't know her deeply and or personally, but through his battles with her he knew enough to know that with time and with the planted seed of new found confidence, she would soon display a self-assurance that would turn into a playful insubordination and then refined to true warrior spirit worth battling against again and again.

Finally making it back to his room after a long period of walking through the giant never ending halls of Los Noches, he took her first to the bathroom to clean her up so that her freshly spilt blood didn't completely soil his entire bed. He tried to lay her upon the bathroom ground as lightly as possible, but the unforgiving surface made her grunt through her teeth as she let out a small hiss followed by a deepened exhale. Leaving momentarily, Grimmjow returned with a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth. Annoying as it would be, he knew she wouldn't be able to do it entirely on her own, so he went about cleaning her up himself as he placed the bowl beside her as he then began to undo the front section panel on her jacket. Not at all expecting him to be undressing her she grasped upon his arms in shock.

"W-Wha..."

"…the hell's the matter with you? Do you want the damn blood off you or not?" He asked, although it wasn't really asking her out of permission. She blushed ferociously at the thought of him undressing her even in the slightest not that she was entirely against the idea, but that it was so soon. This was more of something she would allow a man to do under the circumstance of playful love and not under the circumstance of _regretted kindness_.

She had a bra on at least so that brought her a small form of comfort as she took her hands off his arms, tossing her gaze to the side and squeezing her eyes shut. Before Grimmjow continued, he paused for a moment as he watched her blush and tremble slightly. He couldn't help but to agree with her that maybe the moment was a tad bit _awkward_, but his approach on the matter was more practical; there was blood on her body that needed to be removed, so what if a little bare skin showed? It was necessary to remove it and she couldn't do it entirely on her own so there wasn't really a choice in the matter, but a strange soft side to him that rarely ever even remotely appeared kept his roughness at bay as he took care to only remove what really needed removing.

After removing the front jacket panel it made it easier to open it up and lifted slightly to get to the back part as it was tucked under her belt, removing that as well so he could wipe the blood from her stomach. With a little bit of effort he managed to wipe most of the blood that came out from the front entry wound, but it was then he realized she would need bandaging until her wounds completely healed in two days.

_Irritated sigh._

Leaving once again momentarily he returned with fresh bandages in hand as he placed it on the floor beside the bowl of water that was now tinted red. With the easy part down, it was now time to get the worst as he slowly turned her on her right side to get to the back, her face and arms close to his knee that was bent upon the floor while he kept himself propped up with the other leg. She nuzzled up close next to him as she felt a cool draft of air hit the bare skin of her back as Grimmjow pushed away the fabric of the jacket while tugging down the top part of the pants as they were positioned at the tail bone, but just under the Hollow indentation. The entire area was reddened and swollen as blood was smeared all over.

With the fabric out of the way, he didn't hesitate to start wiping with the cloth, but that soon proved to be quite painful as Kein let out a small yelp with the sensitivity of the indentation being twice as bad now that it had been struck through with a sword.

"I'm sorry!" She immediately uttered, afraid her yelping would irritate him further as she grasped upon Grimmjow's bent knee, nuzzling her face deeply against it, keeping her eyes squeezed tight.

Letting out a deep sigh through his nostrils, Grimmjow did his best to lighten his touch as he very carefully wiped the blood from her back. It took a good few minutes before he had finally finished cleaning her of the blood before he could get to wrapping the bandages around her midriff as he had to help her sit upward, switching positions with his leg so she had something to lean against. She was still trembling lightly as he finished with the bandages; relieved that he didn't have to do anymore than that, but there was no way he could constantly subject her to this let alone constantly bloody her up. There had to be another way about this, but what was it?

"Can you manage to get up?" He asked gruffly as she answered with almost playful banter, "I'll live," biting her lip as she used the edge of the sink to balance herself, pulling on the edge as it took a deep aching minute to get to her feet. As nice as it was to just have him carry her, she did have her own _pride_. She wasn't a baby after all. Grimmjow made sure to step aside as she eased with each step towards the entrance of the bathroom, but there was a step at the bottom of the doorway she was not aware of since Grimmjow had originally carried her in. She nearly tripped on it as she gasped, but her arm was grasped tightly as the jawboned Espada had caught her at the last second with his hand upon her right bicep.

Letting out an exasperated relief, surprised he even bothered since she could sense the tension off him, she merely turned her head slightly in his direction and said, "Thank you."

Although he didn't reply, she could tell that her show of appreciation was at least accepted as the Espada's eyebrows relaxed a bit as he let go of her arm so that she could manage her way to the bed, but keeping close steps behind her to make sure she didn't trip again. It was almost amusing to watch her as she took careful baby steps to avoid much muscle movement that involved most of her lower back, almost like a toddler learning how to walk. Coming from the bathroom, the couch was on the right side of the room while the bed was on the left side, but like the courteous gal she was, Kein _assumed_ Grimmjow didn't want her anywhere near his bed so she started to stagger towards the couch.

"And just where do you think _you're_ going?"

Turning slightly in his direction with surprise written on her face she replied "Huh? What do you mean? Do you not want…"

"…on the bed," he commanded in interruption.

Her eyebrows lifted as she had no other response to give, redirecting her steps as she moseyed on over to the bed while Grimmjow sat himself upon the couch, his hands in his pockets as he usually had them and his right leg perched upon his left knee. When she first arrived here with the Sexta Espada, she always slept on the couch so the sudden switch was a little unexpected. It was easier and much quicker for him to become comfortable versus Kein who continued to switch about on the bed, the Espada silently gazing upon her with a fiery quiet stare. He watched her every movement as she finally found a position that didn't cause her too much aching. She couldn't lie on her back or stomach so her sides were the only relief as she finally plopped herself on her right side that faced in Grimmjow's direction.

However, she did not notice his gaze just yet as her twitching and shifting about soon steadied to a calm as she smelled upon a freshly planted scent in the pillow. There was no mistaking that it was Grimmjow's since she recognized it from smelling it off his jacket and chest when he was carrying her. Not only that but it was in the sheets as well as the bed from the endless nights Grimmjow had spent in it under Aizen's rule and even though Aizen was long since gone, he still continued to go to this particular room like it was marked territory.

The aroma was warm and deep as it filled her nostrils, sending almost a chill down her spine. It was slightly musky since Arrancars didn't exactly use body colognes or perfumes like they did in the Living World. The bed itself was amazingly soft as well; not hardened and stiff like Grimmjow's usual demeanor. After being bathed in his scent she finally opened her eyes and looked over on the other side of the room as her gaze was met with _his_.

At first his gaze was a bit alarming as he sat so still and so quiet without even blinking, like a hunter keeping sight on its prey; studying it, learning its habits, learning its _nature_. What was he thinking; she wondered. What was tinkering in the mind of the Sexta Espada at this moment and time; she pondered. Did she really appeal enough to him? Was he really willing to just let her stay…with him…all alone for just the two of them? Did he really let her come all this way with him just to fight endless fights and endless training?

Was that…it?

These questions filled her mind as she soon found herself being lost in his gaze as it put her in a strange calm. She felt almost protected under his watch, but also _safe_. She was his prey, and belonged to no one else, so he wouldn't dare let anything get to her without his permission. The silence of Hueco Mundo could suddenly truly be heard as the two stared at each other, no word spoken and no hints of fear or worry, just two warriors focused in a pure mental gaze and soon the quiet had creased a very small smile upon Kein's face as she finally succumbed to exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep only wondering what the next few days of healing would bring.

-_Dawn_-

There was no sunshine or brightness in the sky to wake Kein, but her natural internal clock had woken her to tell her a new day had dawned, like it had been doing for her for the last week and just like for the last week every time she woke he was never present in the room. Slowly opening her eyes she found Grimmjow's room to have the same dimness of light in it with the only real light shining from the entrance to the hallways, the window creeping Hueco Mundo's moonlight through the bars that used to stand but were forcedly ripped down, by Grimmjow's hands no doubt. She missed the real sun and natural blue skies. The one thing she was thankful for was the main area of Hueco Mundo that had a fake sky thanks to Aizen. It was near the main throne room and she would always venture to it to take in what she could that reminded her of Soul Society and the Living World.

Mindful of her previous day injuries, she took care to sit up very carefully and slowly as she sat over the edge of the bed, expecting soreness to still linger since it was only day one of her rejuvenation. However, as she sat up she realized there was no pain whatsoever. Shock took her face as she patted down her stomach and back area and still did not find a hint of an ache or muscle twinge.

"Holy crap. Am I…healed already?"

It was then she had remembered that in Hueco Mundo her ability to absorb reishi was a lot stronger considering that most of her powers were embellished in Hollow form so naturally Hueco Mundo would speed up the process much further, letting her heal in half the time. However, thinking that everything was hunkie dorky, she stood up rather quickly only to feel a sharp pain shoot down her legs, starting from the point in her lower back.

"Ow! Ow…okay…maybe I'm not healed completely, but damn I heal so much faster here. I don't know if that's a good thing…" looking down at the old blood stains on her clothes "…or a bad…thing….hmm. Guess I should wash this out before the blood stains it completely, but what the hell to wash it out with," she wondered as she went down the various corridors of the hallways to see if she could find a place to actually wash clothing as this was the first time she had to do so. She found rooms filled with food and drink no doubt but she came upon a room to actually wash clothes as she stood before a washing and drying machine.

"You've got to me kidding me. Butterflyzen thought of everything, even a damn clothing washer..." she joked as she began to undress down to her black bra and black underwear as she tossed her bloodied clothes into the washer "… what else did he provide for them? No wonder they stuck around under his rule. He practically wiped their asses without actually wiping them."

"_What the hell are you mumbling about?_"

"AH!" Kein yelped in a girly manner as she scrambled for the towel she had brought with her and held it over her revealing bare skin. "DON'T FUCKING DO THAT! You scared the hell out of me! Just how freaking long were you standing there anyway?" She barked in a protesting manner, flushed over her face with a blush as she quickly wrapped the towel around herself.

It was probably the first time Grimmjow had ever seen her even partially bare skinned considering her outfits weren't that much revealing in any way. It was a nice little surprise to see her blue hair fluffily laid about her back and shoulders as he got a peek of her true toned physique that was pretty sturdy and built, but not as muscular as his own. He almost smirked.

"Tch, you're such a pansy," he insulted lightly as he turned his back to walk away.

"Pansy?" She grumbled under her breath in protest, "I bet you wouldn't be saying that if I slapped you with a fish you stupid cat…"

"…what was that?" He barked at the last second, poking his head back around the corner of the entrance to the wash room.

"Nothing! Nothing," biting her tongue to keep herself from laughing.

"Whatever. Just hurry the hell up and heal so we can continue dealing your little problem," as he finally began to walk down the corridors. "Sure…_whatever_ you say… your bitchiness," she spoke under her breath again in sarcastic enthusiasm. She wanted to fight with him no doubt, but she wasn't particularly looking forward to dealing with this sword through her stomach again. No, she _refused_ to deal with that bullshit as a defiance built up in her, but the harshness of the thought faded away as she chuckled at the realization that she and Grimmjow had just had their first cutesy moment. The moment didn't come out of frustration or misunderstanding; it was just simply…cute; being accidentally caught nearly undressed.

It made her heart beat a little faster as she blushed again. An hour later after laying on the bed to rest while waiting, her clothes finally finished washing and drying as she went to the washing room to gather them, only this time making sure Grimmjow wasn't around as she let the towel drop and slipped quickly back into Arrancar outfit. It felt weird to be wearing so much white in comparison to her completely black rogue outfit, but it was surprisingly more comfortable and breathable. Suddenly out of the calm of the moment she felt a small ripple in the ground as the wave of energy could be felt from nearby. Following its trail soon enough led her outside of Los Noches' walls as she found the remains of a fired Cero blasting through the atmosphere.

"What the hell?" After the red tinting sky had faded back to its typical black with white stars, Kein was able to see in the distance that the Cero had come from Grimmjow as a whaling Hollow cry quickly silenced as she watched a Menos Grande tumble over on its side and disappearing into nothing. Approaching Grimmjow she quickly asked, "What was that doing here? I thought they only were in the Menos Foregrounds." Placing Pantera back in its sheath but a hand still placed upon its hilt, "They occasionally venture up here when they've become strong enough to start evolving into adjuchas. It tried to blast a Cero at me, but it obviously ate mine instead."

"Well naturally," she complimented him lightly as he turned towards her direction with a scowl.

"And I thought I told you to hurry up and heal."

A little surprised, "Well I felt a shift in the atmosphere so I followed it as quickly as possible to see where the source was at, but I figured it was you." His gaze narrowed as it made her a bit uneasy, but then he simply stated as he began to walk back to Los Noches, "Guess you're senses aren't as dense _afterall_."

Putting on a pouty face as she followed, "Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're _slacking_, but with your exposure to the reishi here, it's no surprise that your ability to feel out spiritual pressures have improved since you've been here."

"Wait…really?" As she walked up next to him returning back to the still standing palace. "I'm surprised this place never drove you crazy. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice change of pace to get away from everyone, but an insurmountable amount of solitude isn't always that rewarding." Grimmjow gritted his teeth a tad bit before replying roughly, "Maybe for a _Shinigami_, but this is home. You get used to it."

Although it was a typical answer she expected Grimmjow to say, somehow she didn't find his answer very convincing. It felt like he was trying to convince himself, like there was no other answer to give, but the word _Shinigami_ stung her more then she was expecting it to. It brought a strange sense of irritancy to her.

"I'm not a _Shinigami_ as you so lightly put it," she stated with distain. The tone in her voice caught Grimmjow's attention as he tossed his gaze towards her, finding that she was looking off in the distance with wandering eyes.

"Is that right? Then what do you consider yourself to be then? Cuz you sure as hell aren't an Arrancar. Of course with that weird mark on your back, sure could have fooled me," He stated lightly with sarcasm, tossing his gaze back towards the approaching palace as she replied with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I don't know what to consider myself. I feel more like a Hollow more than anything else, just wandering around constantly searching for things, but not really sure what I'm searching for anymore. With Aizen running amuck that at least gave us all a purpose of some kind, whether it was to fight against him or fight for him."

"Teh, don't tell me you actually miss that bastard."

"Of course I don't, but at least I had something to do."

Her answer made Grimmjow chuckle as the chuckle switched to belted laughs, confusing Kein.

"Well now! Guess you didn't lie to me after all."

Blinking with bewilderment, "Lie to you?"

"You truly do have a fighting spirit."

"Huh? Wait, what does that have to do with me lying to you?"

"The reason you feel you can't find a purpose anymore is because Aizen gave you something to fight. You don't need an excuse to battle, but Aizen indeed gave you one even if it was to mainly protect your _precious little friends_, but with that bastard gone _now_ what are you going to do? And that's why you came with me. Ha, ha…HA, HA, HA! I get it now!"

Kein almost smiled as she chuckled along with him, still not sure what point he was trying to make as he continued, "When our last and final battle came and you refused to kill me, at first I thought you were just confused at your own reasoning. You kept saying how killing me would be such a waste. At first I thought you were mocking me or some weird misplaced form of pity, but now I realize that you simply couldn't get _enough_ of fighting me. With Aizen gone, you didn't want it to end, but it forced you to keep looking for another fight. So when you begged me to take you with me back here…"

"…hey I didn't beg…"

"…don't interrupt me girl. I thought your reasons to come with me were of some other nature that you refused to tell me, but now I see you truly are just here to keep yourself at peace by being in constant threat, subjecting yourself to endless fights to satiate that love for battle so you don't go crazy."

As much as Kein agreed with him, she couldn't help but feel that he was saying that more about himself then her. It was true though, she didn't quite feel at peace unless her hands were busy being rung around an enemy's neck that was truly worth fighting. With Grimmjow having a true warrior's spirit and power, let alone that he was just simply gorgeous, it was a major driving factor for her to just be with him, but she was too afraid to admit to him that the one _other_ driving reason she was here was because she just simply liked him. And the like was inching towards admiration and that admiration was inching towards a word she had yet to truly feel and understand.

"Grimmjow, I'm glad you finally understand that about me, but..." as she quickly walked in front of him, stopping him in his tracks as their gaze met each other "…I would _never_ lie to you."

The sincerity in her eyes made him silent, his expression softened by just a little as her statement sat upon the air, making it seem not so rough and unforgiving. Dare he feel it was almost…refreshing?

"Teh, make sure you keep it that way."

She smiled as she walked past her, her footsteps following his as they finally reached the palace, Kein back to his room while Grimmjow went about his own business while she rested a bit longer until she was completely healed. As Kein laid upon his bed she couldn't help but to think back on the living world as images of Ichigo…Orihime…Chad…Ishida…and her Shinigami friends crossed her mind. She missed them and she missed her close connections she had forged with them, but even in being away she knew that those connections would never sever. Her thoughts then reflected back on Orihime as she was slowly beginning to understand the Human's sentiments towards Ichigo.

"_Orihime…you love Ichigo so much. I don't know if what I'm feeling is the same sentiment you feel. What is love even supposed to mean? Supposed to feel like? Maybe it's not love, but I never thought in my entire life, living or as a Shinigami that I would ever feel this way towards anyone as I do now. I don't know if he'll feel the same towards me like I have grown to admire him. I doubt he would, but even so I can't help but to continue being here and learning about these new emotions. For now its fine._ _I'll accept it as it is and continue to train under his guidance. He's taught me so much already in the short time I've been here and I could never replace the knowledge he's given me. I don't know how long it'll be before I ever return, but when I do, you and Ichigo will be the first ones I see."_


	3. The Proposition

**The Proposition**

Dust lifted and was punched away as Grimmjow warmed up his muscles shortly after awakening an hour ago. He threw punches into the air at lightning speed, launching himself upwards as he performed an upper cutting kick making the momentum of his body spin into a backwards somersault as he gracefully landed upon the ground with an unforgiving thud into the sand leaving a nicely grounded indent. He then quickly withdrew Pantera as he sliced his finger down along its blade, a trail of blood splashing into the air in a circular motion as he yelled out with an outstretched arm, "Gran Ray CERO!"

The monstrous blast fiercely pierced the air as it fired up into the atmosphere, not particularly directed towards anything other than the blackened sky as the fiery blue blazed through the black canopy above and then disappeared. His attack was becoming stronger than before and it pleased him as he grinned lightly from the feeling of it erupting from his hand in a violent explosion. When the attack had cleared he simply scoffed at the sudden presence of Kein as he stated almost in irritancy, "Bout time you woke up. Was about to come in there and give you a _wake up call_."

She simply chuckled, "Even death needs its beauty sleep." As the attack finally cleared from all its power, the atmosphere calmed to its never ending silence as the Sexta Espada tossed his gaze upon Kein, Pantera still grasped firmly in hand.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"The Grim Reaper of Soul Society…that's what they used to call me. My Zanpakutou is the only spirit in Soul Society to be the personification of death itself. So one of the phrases I used to jokingly say was _even death needs its beauty sleep_. Was annoying at first as it felt like the nickname was just jesting mockery, but over time I grew quite fond of the nickname seeing as how it brought fear to my opponents at the very mention of it."

"Heh, is that right? Doesn't seem to have much effect on _me,_" he mocked openly, but Kein's expression grew more serious as she asked, "So, what's on today's agenda?"

His expression in turn also changed to an ill amused look as he simply answered in sarcasm, "Take a _wild guess._" Her eyebrows lowered in a reverse arch as she asked although already knowing the answer, "I'll be _damned_ if you're going to stab me again," ending her statement in a low growl.

His hand tightened its grip upon Pantera's hilt, "If you don't like it you can run on home to those _Shinigamis_…or…you can suck it up and DEAL WITH IT!" He yelled as he came at her with fierce speed and power.

_…SLASH…_

His sword came mercilessly down upon Kein, but to his surprise his blade was met with another as sparks flew and metal grinded. She had called upon her Zanpakutou as she blocked his attack, but not without difficulty.

"You cheeky _bitch!_ You broke our agreement!" He barked in anger, but she could have sworn that she saw a hint of a grin on his face from the unexpected retaliation.

"On the contrary, _asshole_, the condition of me coming here was for me to give you my Zanpakutou for the first session of fighting, but you never once said that I wasn't allowed to _materialize_ it at any time to defend a _cheap blow!_"

And then the grin appeared as he responded almost in delight, his eyes thinned to cat like slits in his pupils, "Well, it's about time! It's nice to see you aren't some damn submissive little lamb ready to surrender to every command I give! That routine gets old _real quick_."

"Oh so I'm _boring_ you now? Come on…you can't fool me. Don't tell me that being able to boss someone around doesn't bring about a sense of subtle guilty pleasure considering you were Aizen's bitch for a while."

His grin sharply snarled into a growl as he forced Pantera into her blade, violently pushing her back, sliding along the sand. "Oh, _I'm sorry_. Did I _hit a nerve_?" she apologized, a grin still upon her face as she let out a deep breath.

"Save your apologies for someone who cares, but time to cut the warm-ups. And get rid of that sword before I rip it from your hands."

"Heh, alright," as she de-materialized it, returning it to its previous location where Grimmjow had kept it. A silent moment hit the air as Kein stated a hypothetical, "You know everyone has a weakness, sometimes more than one. So does it truly matter whether I strategize the way I fight to avoid getting hit on my weakest point? You said so yourself a few days ago that I block and dodge in such a way so affective that I avoid getting myself killed off too easily—"

"…are you that fucking dense girl?"

His interruption took her by surprise as he reiterated his previous lessons to her, "I'm going to say this once so I suggest you listen well. It doesn't matter how you try to rationalize the reasons for what you do. The bottom line is, that day when you merged body and soul with the Arrancar, Gutierrez, you started a habit of relying on your Zanpakutou's _cop_ out techniques to avoid an actual fight so you wouldn't end up dead because of that weakness, but that's no way to fight. That's just doing it out of fear, not out of truly understanding your abilities or powers or actually _gaining_ experience in battle. When that unfinished indentation started forming on your back, you _forgot_ how to fight _with_ your powers. Instead you fight _behind them_ like some damn coward."

It made absolute sense as his words began to sink in, Kein standing idly, speechless to the Sexta's speech.

"You came to this realization once when you first got here, but it's like you've completely ignored it because you let the fear of the pain control you. Every time you're about to make it to the next level, you hit a wall and then you start the process all over again. This is why…you _can't_ reach Ichigo's level, not while you're stuck in limbo to your own _bullshit._"

_Bingo_

Grimmjow had hit the nail on the head as his words shot through her like lightning. She thought for a moment, as she needed a minute to let this all sink in. Not wanting to interrupt her thoughts, Grimmjow stood silently as his fierce gaze was cast upon her, waiting to see what she would say next. All was clear now with nothing left to question or wander. She finally got it as she proposed the only solution that would fit the situation.

"Well, obviously stabbing me through isn't going to help anything. If we're going to do this right then weapons and spiritual attacks need to be tossed aside for now. Instead let's just simply deal with brute force, just the way you like it."

Almost cocking an eyebrow as he placed Pantera back in its sheath, "I'm listening."

"The only way this will work is to desensitize something that is sensitive by constantly subjecting it to impact. Instead of forcing on severe amounts of pain, it needs to be brought on little by little. It may not be entirely natural, but it's still skin and skin will eventually harden and callus over when its continuously subjected to rough treatment just like our hands and feet. Might take a little time, but time is all we got and its far more affective and productive then just making me bleed everywhere. We'll have to fight back at the palace grounds where there's plenty of walls and building parts to be slammed into or hit against, but it should work no doubt and of course we'll still be perfecting our hand to hand combat."

Another smirk appeared on his face as he replied, "I think you're _finally learning_ and it's about damn time. Sure beats the hell out of carrying your ass down the halls."

"Ha, ha, ha, I definitely agree on that one."

Minutes passed as the two had ventured into an area of the palace grounds that had already been subjected to previous battles. There were half broken towers and boulders from fallen pieces scattered all about and the fake blue sky sat nicely above them, making Kein feel a bit more at home with the shift in the atmosphere for them to fight in.

The first time she arrived, Grimmjow had her undergo just simple basic evading techniques, which she no doubt effortlessly proved to him that she was capable of pulling off even without the use of a sword or spiritual attack, but as observed all her evading techniques evolved around avoiding being hit on the back area, but now with a new agreement of no weapons or spiritual attacks, her worry of getting stabbed was quickly put to rest and she could focus on the second basics in fighting; hand to hand combat.

She could now focus on creating new habits over the old one and little by little work on diminishing her constant subconscious worry over getting beat around on her hollow indentation. Taking Pantera in hand, Grimmjow stabbed the end of its blade into the ground as it was planted firmly. He wasn't going to be using it this time around so there was no need to have it physically in the way as the two fighters stood on opposite sides of the grounds.

"Are you ready?" He asked almost with excitement now that they were progressing towards a better route around her little problem.

"Not unless you want me in my Bankai form, otherwise this fight is going to be a real quick one," she answered with a smirk.

"Last I checked that was _your_ problem."

He was quite the handful even in her Bankai form, but without it he would be impossible to keep up with, but it didn't matter as Espada went up against Hybrid Shinigami, their fists mingling. Even though in many instances she was much more powerful than Ichigo, she wasn't nearly at the level he was now considering that not only did he manage to transform into the next stage of Vasto Lorde, but he was also taught the last technique of his Zanpakutou, which ultimately would eventually render him powerless of his Shinigami powers.

However, if Ichigo could do it, she was more than determined to get herself to the same level or at least as close as possible. Furthermore, she wanted to do the same for Grimmjow. Being witness to Ulquiorra's second Resureccion form, she was nearly convinced that maybe other Arrancars at his level could do the same, but only time would tell.

Grimmjow threw a punch, she blocked, but was quickly met by his round housing kick as it planted against her head, spinning her violently as she used the spin to round house kick back at him. He caught her leg, grabbing it, and then slamming her back into the ground as the hardened surface met her back, hitting the area of her indentation. Impact number one had made its contact as a glob of spit flew from her open gasping mouth as a pinching pain surged up her spine from her tail bone. The pain was a bitch, but it was manageable…a _lot_ more manageable than being stabbed through with a sword.

Having only a few seconds to react, she rolled over a few times before being stomped upon by Grimmjow's foot as it landed with an unforgiving thud breaking into the ground. Quickly getting back to her feet she came at him with an undercutting motion as her fist swung in a curve, nearly hitting his jaw as he tilted his head back, missing it by an inch, but he grabbed its wrist, twisting his right arm so that the elbow was flung upward, blocking his face as he grabbed the forearm and pulled her inward as his knee met her stomach.

She gagged again, but it wasn't something she wasn't used to feeling already, having fought a week straight with him. With her conveniently bent over his knee, he was going to use this opportunity to jam his left elbow directly into the middle of her indentation, but she knew where he was going to hit next as she quickly curled her leg, lifting up as it kicked backwards, landing upon the side of his face as she was able to get out of his grasp, quickly backing a few feet away.

"Damn it, you're blocking that weak point again!"

"Oh bullshit! I was blocking because I _could_! It's not my fault you left yourself open. If you want to hit me there so badly then don't leave openings!"

A second he was standing in front of her, and the next second he had flashed step behind her as she gasped.

"You should follow your own advice _Marasuna_!"

And without being able to react, he lifted his leg and planted it against her back, sending her tumbling through the air as her back impacted once again against a nearby cracked and crumbled pile of left over building blocks. Impact number two had made a successful mark as her joints cracked from hitting the blocks at full force, blood flying from her mouth followed by a gasping yelp.

"AH! Son of a…damn it!"

She struggled to get up from the pile as the pain was beginning to build upon the ache from the first impact. Grimmjow took quick heavy steps towards her direction as he was quickly closing the distance. Managing herself out of the rubble, she was now on all fours upon the ground as Grimmjow was just a few feet from her, but before she could make a move he picked her up by the front part of her jacket as she grasped upon his arm, his other one closing in on her face with a fist.

She put up a hand and caught the fist, using his other arm as leverage as she lifted both her feet together and kicked into his abdomen, kicking him back and nearly knocking the wind out of him as she fell to the ground from being dropped. Getting to her feet without a moment too soon, Grimmjow stated, "Good. That's good Marasuna, but we're far from over!"

Without warning the Sexta Espada lifted his hand and fired a deadly Cero. Kein had seconds to react as she took a glance behind her and saw in the distance a nice battered building side.

_Perfect_

The Cero hit her almost at point blank range considering Grimmjow had only fired it from a few feet away. She fired a small shot Cero of her own so that the attack wasn't lethal, but it was exactly enough she needed to send her flying backwards with immense velocity and within seconds she hit the building behind her, _back first_. She screamed out as the Cero burned against her skin since she had used her arms to protect at least her face and part of her front.

The front part of her forearms, tip of her elbows, and part of her neck was completely burned and singed from the attack, but the impact to her back was near crippling. She coughed up a glob of blood as it flung to the ground in a splatter. The dent in the wall was so hard that she literally _sat_ in it with rubble and soot tossed about all over her.

She groaned heavily and audibly as she did her best to deal with the pain.

"KEIN!" His majesty's voice roared in the air. "What the _HELL_ was that?" Grimmjow yelled in anger as he approached her with very pissed off steps. "You could have _easily_ dodged that you IDIOT!" He further protested in a near rage considering that the Cero could have nearly killed her or easily lopped off a few body parts had she not lowered the intensity of the attack with her own Cero. In fact he was expecting her to dodge it so he could get a hit on her in a flanking move. She could only chuckle in response, "I-I-I know t-that you dumb a-ass!"

As the Espada finally approached her, a sudden thought stopped him from pounding the hell out of her for being so stupid as he realized, "Wait a minute, you let it hit you on purpose." Coughing a little in response, "Y-Yep. T-Took you long enough…t-t…t-to figure that out." And then a grin creased across his face.

"I really hate to admit this, but you've got guts for a iShinigami/i."

"Kh, heh, heh, I told you n-not to call me that," she stammered in a raspy coughing voice as the pain wasn't nearly as unbearable as she thought it would be. Maybe being stabbed the first time helped to jump start her desensitization.

She slowly managed to sit upright as Grimmjow shadowed over her.

"You gonna call it quits, or shall I blast you another one?"

"W-What? Are you seriously asking my _permission?_ I'm surprised y-you stopped…t-to begin with."

Grimmjow's gaze narrowed as he realized the point she just made. Why _did_ he stop? Why did he not continue attacking her immediately like any normal enemy would? "You're _right_. You make a valid point, _Kein_…" as he held up his hand, a Cero beginning to glow in the middle of his palm "…what? You crazy son of a—"

"Excuse me _princess_. I didn't realize you wanted to take a breather!"

His hand was in range of her foot as she immediately used the curving edge of it to kick up and knock his hand to the side as she shot up an arm and fired a stronger Cero then the last one. Grimmjow gasped as he immediately dodged out of the way, giving Kein ample room to get out of the dented wall, but by the time she had painfully forced herself to her feet upon the ground, Grimmjow was there waiting for her as he came at her side ways, the flat part of his shin contacting her stomach as she was sent through the air again. He then flashed above her and came down with a merciless elbow to the side that she had caught at the last second, but it didn't stop the momentum of her body from crashing flat to the ground below her.

The few seconds her body had bounced off the ground in a rebound, Grimmjow quickly landed upon the ground as he planted a foot down upon her stomach, forcing her back downwards. She squirmed under the pressure of his foot as it simultaneously pushed her back into the sandy particles of the ground that grinded against her skin, even with the protection of clothing. She winced and moaned a little as she tried to desperately push his foot off her stomach as he merely kept his hands in his pockets.  
>"Ah! Damn it! W-What the…kh…h-hell—"<p>

"…what's the matter? You don't appreciate the personal _back massage_?"

She didn't know what dug in worst, the sand that was penetrating through the fabric and contacting against her indentation, or his words. The more he pushed in with his foot and twisted it side to side, the more her skin was grinded against as she immediately reacted to the unsightly sensation. "No, STOP!" Spitting to the side he barked back, "The only thing stopping you is _yourself_ girl. If you want it to stop so badly then fire a Cero like you did a second ago."

Using the idea she flung up one of her hands, but Grimmjow was quick to meet her move as his hand floated above her with a deep warning. It was a draw as she knew that this vantage point was not hers if he truly hit her with a Cero at this range. She knew he wouldn't fire one that would be strong enough to take her out obviously, but she wasn't going to test the idea of how much more she could handle.  
>"Damn it…heh, heh…no fair—"<p>

"…Tch, fair? What was it you said earlier about leaving openings?"

He playfully made her eat her on words with a grin upon his face as he dug a little deeper into her, still keeping his hand out as a warning that he would fire a Cero. The tightened pressure upon the grains of sand on her skin was like rubbing her with sand paper as she began to yelp aloud. He wasn't exactly the type to sadistically torture his opponents, but Grimmjow was waiting for a reaction from her, slowly pushing her further knowing that she could ultimately handle it.

"What are you gonna do Marasuna? You would have been killed by now if you were fighting a _real_ enemy."

"Fuck you. FUCK YOU! GOD DAMN IT I'm going to get you so fucking _bad_!"

Like music to his ears as he let out a deepened laugh, "HA, HA, HA! Yes! That's more like it _Kein_. I bet you want to rip me apart don't cha? Well? Then why don't you? Bring out that mask of yours and stop your bitching!"

As he finally let his foot up, kicking her away as she violently rolled along the ground before she stopped a few feet away, making her struggle as she laid for a couple of seconds before managing to kneel upon all fours. She was shocked though.

"Are you serious about asking me to bring it out?"

His eyebrows furrowed almost baffled by her question.

"What are you deaf? I'm not asking, I'm TELLING you! Now bring out that mask before I die of boredom from kicking your ass all over the place!"

Panting from the immense pain she was feeling all over her backside, she struggled to lift her hand to her face in a clawing like motion, but she hesitated. She couldn't help but feel that this was different somehow. Grimmjow wasn't commanding her to bring out her mask so she could have a better advantage or because he was tired of seeing her so easily kicked around. It was because the call of his pure instinct was digging and clawing its way out like an animal.

He always acted upon instinct, and his instinct was telling him now that he needed a good fight just for the hell of it, to get it out of his system, but the last thing she wanted to do was have a full on battle. She could tell every time he was itching just for a fight regardless of the reason behind it, there always came out a strange wild look in his eyes.

…that _wild_ look…


	4. Bow to the King

**Bow to the King**

Although she wasn't in Bankai form, she could still summon her mask. Curling her fingers, almost straining every muscle in them, she quickly clawed downward in a quick motion as her mask suddenly appeared, a deep hissing sound breathing from behind it as her eyes turned pitch black with only but the glowing yellow around the pupils that showed like yellow diamonds.

"Aren't you going to use your Resurrecion form?"

"Don't need it," he quickly answered as it stunned her. Any normal person would immediately think Grimmjow was crazy for taking her on in her Vizard form knowing full well the last time he went up against it in his regular form that he was easily taken out, but that wasn't the thought running through his mind at this moment in time. He just simply wanted to fight, not to get it out of his system but to also better himself so that he wasn't always focused on training Kein's ass all the time.

The last thing Kein was going to do was to question his motives. She may had convinced him before that she never looked down upon him, but she could tell just by being around him that he still suffered from an inferiority complex of some kind.

He just simply couldn't stand the thought of others looking down upon him because of his natural raw instinct to fight to the top and _stay_ at the top and anything that was there to challenge it riled up his love to battle as equals just as much as it pissed him off to think that his opponent _didn't_ see him as an equal.

And it was because of this complex that Kein knew that the second she questioned his motives, even if it seemed crazy to her, she knew it would erupt those hidden feelings within. She wanted to do everything she could to prove to him and to _keep_ proving to him that she always saw him as an equal.

Feeling the familiar power of her Inner Hollow rushing through her body brought about a sense of adrenalin. She loved the feeling as it enhanced her abilities and power by 10x. Having been taking a beating for nearly two weeks straight, she was going to rather enjoy pounding a few fists upon the jawboned Espada before her.

"Those eyes, I can't get enough of those fucking eyes!"

He yelled in near ecstasy as he charged with full force at her while she simultaneously leaped into the air to meet him. Halfway, their hands locked into each other as they came at a draw, pushing against each other like two freight trains. However, it only took a mere few seconds before Kein easily overpowered him, pushing him back a good feet before coming right back at him with a sideways kick that could break cement like it was jello, but the Espada's hardened Hierro was a lot denser than before as he simply blew off the pain. With her leg planted mostly against his stomach, he simply grabbed onto it with both hands and spun them sharply as he threw Kein back.

Predicting she would come right back at him, he readied his stance as she did as such, but at the last second she speed stepped behind him and elbowed him in the back between the shoulder blades as he let out an audible grunt. Not letting him have a chance to recover, she did another round house kick that landed upon his exterior jawbone mask as the impact sent a small crack into the upper part of it, sending him flying to the side. Waiting this time for him to recover, he quickly stopped himself from spinning in the air further as he turned towards her direction, deepened growls emitting through his gritting teeth, a small trail of blood trickling down and out from under his mask. They simply gazed at each other for that moment.

When she first came here she wasn't allowed to use anything but her own body and fists for a fight so it had been a while since he had fought her in her masked form without his Resurrecion form to counter its power and he was quickly reminded of just how powerful she was in this form, but he didn't care. No, this was like a drug to him, his own personal heroine to fight against. He no longer looked at those Hollowfied eyes and saw a look of superiority neither was it a look of remorse. It was just simply a look of a warrior ready to make the next mind numbing blow and it made the experience ever sweeter.

"HA, HA, HA! YES! That is what I'm talking about Marasuna!"

There's nothing he loved more than getting in on a fight with his _bare hands_; the feel of his opponent's muscles tearing, their flesh stained with blood, their bones breaking under his grasp, the pounding of his fist upon their body with a satisfying blow. Instead of coming in at her directly, he simply flashed in front of her as he then went about bouncing around her in all directions with great speed. The move was unexpected and different from his usual fighting style as it seemed like he was all round her. Finding the right moment Grimmjow then stopped as he flashed in front of her again, grabbing her mask by his left hand and then letting a cero glow into his right.

She gasped in shock as it seemed like everything was happening so quickly. Going on instinct she flew up a hand as well to fire a Cero, but it was too late. Grimmjow's had already impacted upon her as she was catapulted across the sky, the quick minded Espada quickly following after her in mid air. Expecting her to be nearly immobilized although he didn't fire too strong of a Cero, he flashed stepped one more time towards her, but before he even knew what hit him, she had flashed stepped in return, planting a fist into his stomach just above his Hollow hole as she rained a shower of punches until she combo-ed with an upper cutting thrust up under his jaw, cracking it towards the sky as she then spun her body around and finished with a devastating backwards downward swinging kick across his chest, plummeting him to the ground.

You'd think that would be enough to knock him out for a minute, but she wasn't going to relent or wait for the smoke and debris to clear to find out what damage she had caused as she warmed up yet another Cero into her hand, but he was far ahead of her on the idea as suddenly a Cero blasted up from the ground, nearly grazing her as she dodged at the last second. He had definitely improved since the last time he fought against her mask.

He had gotten much faster and responded more quickly to the insane speed her mask gave her and his reflexes _sharpened_. This pleased her greatly and she wanted to compliment him, but she knew that the compliment would be acknowledged as a backwards mocking insult, just another way of him interpreting her words as looking down upon him. And so her lips stayed sealed.

"Think fast Kein," she suddenly heard his voice behind her as she gasped, angry that she had let her guard down for a split second, but it was too late as he firmly lodged his knee directly into the middle of her indentation. It wasn't a stabbing of the sword, but having been beating around on that area for at least ten minutes or more was all that was needed to rip her of her advantage point as she struggled to keep herself afloat in mid air as the pain surged up and down her spine and then…

_crack_

…her mask, _shattered_.

Blood mixed with saliva flew forth from her mouth as her jaw opened widely with a gasping yell. And for some reason, in that moment, she understood; this was not just for sport or to satisfy a good fight for Grimmjow. This was a _valuable_ lesson he was teaching her. She didn't realize just how badly this weakness needed to be contained. Before when fighting Grimmjow in Hueco Mundo the third time, she could have held onto her mask for at least a good hour, but because of this weakness it was taken down within an instant. Without a moment too soon he then kicked her all the way back down to the ground below as she landed with a hardened thud, another gasping yelp, and then ended with her curling up in a fetal position as her fingers dug into the sand.

She had a worthy vengeance on him, but it was _short lived_. Placing his hands inside his pockets and spitting a little bit of blood to the side from the impacts to his stomach, he simply barked, "You understand now?"

Normally she would just lie over and moan, but something was different this time as she managed to all fours despite the pain. Something deep and torn boiled inside her as a hidden rage was beginning to emerge. She had only been here for a week and a few days and already she had enough.

She simply had had…_enough_.

She wanted to rip the skin off her back so badly, having been for so long and so many years held back by this pitiful and pathetic weak spot and it was all thanks to Gutierrez merging bodies with her.

"Hm," Grimmjow let out a nonchalant response as he watched her, his eyes gazing upon her every move. And then…

"…AHHHHHHHHH!" Her scream echoed like a Hollow's cry in the undergrounds. Almost ripping upon her face, she summoned her mask once again as her head turned sharply towards Grimmjow as her eyes lit on fire like freshly lit coals in a burning furnace. This move took him by surprise as he readied himself in a battle stance. And then with a burning rage her hand was ready to fire a Cero as she came at him with full force, ready to impact him at point blank range. There was no way to summon Pantera quickly enough let alone jump to his Resurrecion form so he had no choice but to meet her Cero with another Cero seeing that the look in her eyes, those deepened Hollow eyes, meant business and nearly screamed the desire to rip the fucking hell out of his body.

Like two nuclear missiles firing into the sky at each other, soon exploded with an impact that could take out a football field. Their powers detonated against each other as they were thrown in opposite directions, the atmosphere filled with a crimson glow as all there seemed to be was the pure sound of _power_.

Quaking grounds and shaking buildings quieted to a light rumble. Light rumbles faded to a still sensation as remaining vibrations disappeared into the sand. Crimson sky darkened and faded to a blackened starry canopy. Red painted walls glimmered to their pure white essence. Warrior cries quieted to a peaceful recognition.

_silence_

All was quiet until the peace was broken with the ever familiar gasping yelps as Kein tossed her head side to side as she laid nearly immobilized on her back upon the sandy grounds. A coughing spasm erupted from her lungs as she spat up a bit of blood, inhaling quickened deep breathes, her body exasperated, but no pain could ever keep her from hitting a panic mode the second her mind hit upon thoughts of Grimmjow.

"O-Oh my g-god….Grimm…j-j-jow."

Every muscle that flexed brought on a vindictive _ache_. Every movement that required her lower back brought on a malicious _throb_ as her freshly burned skin and previously burned skin mingled with the small spots of untouched flesh. Grains of sand flaked off her body as she rolled onto her side, forcing herself to try to get to her feet to find Grimmjow. Was he alright? Did he make it through the attack? Could she have possibly killed him? These questions taunted her mind with a sadistic twisting twinge as she moaned and groaned her way to a standing position, just ever barely able to stay partially upright as she staggered to and fro.

"GRIMMJOW!"

She whaled his name as she desperately looked around to try to spot him out, but her vision was blurry and her head going in and out of consciousness. There was no answer as a few tears welled up in her eyes as images of Nnoitra hitting Grimmjow unjustly flashed through her mind. The thought of that happening again nearly put her in a panicking frenzy, but then in the distance against the monotone colors around them was a single solitary light blue that stood out from all the rest. She gasped as she did her best to stagger over to this single color.

A small hope had shined for her as this single color suddenly flickered with movement, its image becoming a bit clearer as she neared. And soon enough she had come within range of a bleeding, clothing tattered, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Sexta Espada. Even though her attack was a lot stronger than his was, he didn't stagger nearly as much as she did and she didn't fire her Cero nearly as strongly as she _could_ have had she not received previous beatings beforehand that weakened her from the start. She coughed and gagged a bit, approaching her opponent that had gracefully survived her attack. He let out a few grunts himself as his hair was a bit ruffled from the impact, dirt and sand matted in with the freshly drawn blood that trickled and dripped from all over his arms and chest area, a bit on his face as well, but not nearly as bad as what Kein had received.

The fight was obviously over, but there simply just wasn't a word either could say, but his sudden laughing reaction alone was enough to inform her that her session today had most definitely pleased him.

He _grinned_.

She was making progress as well as him. She was finally learning, but then she did something that she did not consciously intend to do, but rather her body moved for her as she fell to her knees before him. Then propping one knee up, she placed her right hand against her chest as she let the other hang loosely to the side. Grimmjow's eyebrows furrowed in question. What the _fuck_ was she doing? Was this some weird form of a fighting stance? No, this wasn't a stance.

It was…a _bow_.

She wasn't sure what entirely compelled her to bow before him upon one knee, like a soldier being awaited to be knighted by its king, but she just simply respected him _that much_. Even with her Vizard mask's power behind the attack, he still managed to come out standing and alive. She did not intend the attack to kill, but she still had put quite a bit of power behind it to cause some extreme serious damage that could easily cripple him had he taken it on without firing his own Cero back in retaliation. Her coughing mingled with chuckling as she lifted her weary blue head slowly and cast her gaze back up at Grimmjow who still seemed a bit baffled by her move.

"What the h—"

"…y-you are…" cough and gag "…o-one hell…of a f-f-fighter…heh, heh…" and then, without another word spoken, she toppled over on her side, falling unconscious. Her words were few, but it was then Grimmjow realized that it meant a lot more than what was spoken. It was really her way of saying that no matter how much stronger she becomes, no matter how many battles she would fight in her future to come, no matter the opponent or how strong they would be for her, she would always see Grimmjow as her _equal_.

And just for a hint of a moment, Grimmjow had a new found respect for Kein. She was unlike any other. Even when Grimmjow had his own Fraccionez, they didn't follow him because they truly respected him with _every regard_. They followed simply because he was stronger than all of them combined so it was easy enough for them at that time and place to state with meaning that he was their king, but actions speak louder than words and it was action that Kein would always show to him. Just for this moment, as short as it may be even if it doesn't last longer than this, he had a new respect for this Ex-Shinigami, this hybrid being, this…_woman_.

-_Next Night-_

Grimmjow stood in the doorway of his room, watching the still resting and still healing Kein. Since being here, this was the first time she was truly battered, mainly from the two Ceros she took on and the repeated impacts to her lower back. He had actually underestimated her resolve. He was a bit certain that she was too controlled by it and that it would take so much longer for her to grow out of that mold of paranoia, but it was soon with just a day's time and her unique natural healing rate that her deep burns began to grow back to normal skin, her cuts and bruises soon faded, and her confused and broken confidence beginning to patch over again. However, out of all the thoughts that came to mind, he just couldn't get the image of her bowing before him out of his head.

It was…_weird_…_strange_…and almost foreign.

He considered himself a king metaphorically in a sense having been given powers that allowed him to climb to the top without anyone in his way now, but he had always done so on his own accord, own standards, pure instinct, and simply alone. He's always been a loner, even in the company of his fellow Arrancar and Espada brethren. His Fraccionez didn't follow him because he expected them to or because he commanded or asked them to. They just simply acknowledged him as their king. But acknowledgement was about as far as it went.

Sure enough they recognized the power he had, but how deep did that recognition really go? Not nearly as deep as Kein clearly displayed, and possibly not even as thoughtful. This? This was new. This was…_different_ and he just couldn't quite wrap his mind around with what to do with it. She was so peaceful in his bed, so quiet and gently wrapped in bandages that he had rummaged from the clinic room that the medic Arrancars used to be that Yammy would so enjoy beating to a bloody pulp for no apparent reason. His vision blurred a little as he rubbed his eyes with annoyance. He hadn't slept well the night before mainly because something felt awkward after her so called _bowed performance_, but he couldn't figure out what exactly. It was so…

…_damn it_.

Seeing that there wasn't much else to do, he thought he might as well get some shut eye. His eyes first fell upon the couch, the ever so stiffer-than-it-looks couch. He had been sleeping on it since the night he stabbed Kein clean through and he instead had her sleeping in his own bed. Not necessarily because he cared about her comfort _too_ much, but because he just simply wanted her to heal as fast as possible, even if it meant giving up his own personal space. Then a thought him.

Why _did_ he give up his bed? Why not just simply sleep next to her? The bed surely had more than enough room for two and it was _his_ bed damn it. Why should it matter if it's occupied by one more person, by a _female_. It shouldn't matter at all, right? Tch…right. Occupied by another, yet again something he wasn't used to. That was it, he thought. So many endless nights he spent in his room by himself, alone in the dim lighting and surrounded in his _own_ scent that it just simply felt awry to have a second occupant to share the space. And it's not like it was a lot of space, but it was still _occupying space_.

"Tch, shit…" he began in audible thought, but then trailed off realizing just how silly it all was to even contemplate on the situation. His eyes got heavy again as he still needed a lot more to recover from than Kein did as he didn't heal as fast as her. Luckily she was conveniently rolled on her side, facing his way, but on the inner part of the bed next to the wall so he didn't have to worry about waking her. After letting out a final huffed exhale through his nostrils, he sat lightly upon the edge of the bed as his broad shoulders cast a wide shadow upon Kein that kept the dim hallway lighting from hitting her face.

He first shed off his boots one by one as he casually tossed them aside, each having a heavy but surprisingly light thud to the ground. He then stripped off his upper jacket that he replaced with all the left over Arrancar uniforms in the sewing room. All that was left that he kept on was his Hakama pants that acted like personal tents for each leg considering how huge they were, but thin at the waste and snuggly tied. He loosened it just a tad to make himself more comfortable as he shifted about the bandages he had put upon himself that needed replacing, but he didn't care at this moment and time to take care of it.

The blood had already coagulated and Kein could heal him herself later so there was no need for concern. Having adjusted himself, he laid back with his arms stretched up and his hands behind his head as his muscles stretched, flexed, and relaxed with satisfaction. It wasn't cold in the air, but there was a sitting coolness that felt good upon his heated bare skin. It was almost a strange sensation as a few goose bumps appeared. Then he simply just closed his eyes.

"_Grimm…jow._"

His eyes shot open as he could have sworn that he heard a near audible whisper state his name. Was he hearing things? Turning his head he looked over and down at Kein. He grunted slightly as he could have sworn a second ago she was at least a few inches from his own space on the bed. Had he fallen asleep without realizing it because now she was lying up against his side. She wasn't pressed hard against him or anything, but it was definitely noticeable. Not only that but she must had been talking in her sleep seeing as how her lips showed light signs of movement. This was even more awkward then he imagined it to be and he _didn't like it_.

Getting up with an abruptness that awoke Kein, he quickly went over to the couch and simply plopped upon it with irritation laying on the side that faced the other way so that his back was turned to her as he mumbled frustrated obscenities under his breath. He wasn't quite sure why it was bugging him so badly, let alone if the feeling was actually _negative_ in nature, but he just simply didn't want to deal with it at this point in time let alone try to figure it out. So he slept on the couch…_again_.

Kein finally snapped to consciousness as at the last second she saw Grimmjow hit the couch. She was confused at first, but then she realized the empty space next to her on the bed was not only ruffled without her own accord, but was warm to the touch.

"_Was he just next to me?_"

She wondered, rather shocked that he hadn't woken her before. She couldn't help but find the situation amusing as she got herself out of bed and stepped towards Grimmjow as she gently placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Grimmjow…" the move almost sudden as he flinched under her touch, but then simply grunted in reply "…yeah, _what_?"

She chuckled, "You goofy guy. Just go sleep on your damn bed already. There's probably 100 or more beds in this entire place that accommodated the other Espada and Arrancars. I'm sure I could find another one nearby that is just as accommodating. That way you can sleep in your own bed if you're so territorial about it enough to not be able to share its space with someone else. Geeze," she finished as she simply walked off to find a nearby room.

Watching the doorway to see if she had really left, he then cussed a few more obscenities under his breath as he yet again had to shift himself for a _second_ time to try to get some sleep, but it did bring out a small comfort to know he finally had his bed again. It was so much more comfortable than the damn couch. Being by himself again brought on an old familiar feeling as for a few seconds it felt like only yesterday that Aizen was around and he could hear his brethren Espada walking up and down the hallways. He was finally left to try to get some sleep though, but as he shifted about in his bed, he was now suddenly apparent of a second scent that occupied it other than his own.

It was Kein's.

At first irritated by it, he was then strangely…_drawn_ to it. Constantly fighting each other made it harder to smell anything else other than sweat and blood, but now that she had been bandaged up he was taken in by the strangeness of her scent. It wasn't sweet or musky in any way, but it almost smelled like eucalyptus with a hint of mint to it. It was a very intriguing smell as he lifted up part of the sheet that had been drawn over her as he brought it to his nose and sniffed around on it like a curious cat finding a new foreign object to explore.

And now for some strange animalistic reason, he wanted her back in his bed so he could smell the scent more strongly on her skin. He was intrigued by the scent and couldn't help but be caught up in it. Hueco Mundo had next to no odors or smells of any kind considering it was a giant sand dune so it fascinated him to smell something so foreign and yet interesting. He knew that upon coming with him, she had brought a few favorite things from the Living World with her, but he couldn't help but wonder what the hell she bathed with when necessary. Maybe things from the Living World wasn't so bad after all, but he didn't give too much thought to it as he finally dozed off.


	5. Nightmares of the Past

**Nightmares of the Past**

Grimmjow was a pretty sound sleeper, but the smallest of noises usually caught his attention and would wake him up considering he was used to sleeping in pure silence not to mention his animalistic senses were always alert whether he was awake or not. Although he had slept a good seven to eight hours, plenty of rest that he would normally get before another day of fighting, he was woken by something rather unsettling. At first irritated by disturbed sleep, he then became bewildered as he slowly sat up in bed, rubbing his feline like eyes as his hearing focused on the noise.

Just what the _hell_ was making those sounds?

It sounded like…whimpering.

"Kein," he stated the hybrid Shinigami's name as he slid over the edge of the bed and then stood as a few of his joints cracked from long positioned sleep. Letting out an annoyed exhale through his nostrils, he simply put on his jacket and shoes, placed his hands in his pockets, and then started down the hallway as he followed the low pitched whimpers. It took quite a few rooms down the hallway before he finally stumbled upon the one she was occupying. Out of all the rooms she could have picked, strangely enough it used to be Aaroniero's room; the Espada that used to occupy the body of the Shinigami Lieutenant, Shiba Kaien.

_…of all the rooms to pick…_

"…n-n-no…please…s-stop…"

His thoughts were cut short as he watched her from the doorway. She was shifting back and forth, sweating, and looked rather uncomfortable as her sheets and pillow was tossed about.

"…stop….NO!"

It almost sounded like panic in her tone as she muttered about from her nightmare. "Tch, must be one hell of a damn dream," he stated almost interested by the scene as he walked over to her bedside. He had never watched someone sleep before let alone watch a sleeping person's reaction to a nightmare. His shadow loomed over her as he simply stated out loud, but not loud enough to startle her, "Hey…wake up."

She showed no response to the stimulus as she continued to murmur and pant. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried again, "Kein, come on, wake up." Still no response.

_sigh_

Sitting himself on the edge of the bed he was going to try for a third time, but then he noticed that the appearance of a few tears had crept out from her tightly shut eyes and streamed down the sides of her face. His breathing flinched at the sight. She was sweating profusely. Must have been worst then he thought. Taking his right hand out of its pocket, he firmly and yet gently placed it upon her left shoulder area as he carefully shook her a little.

"Kein," he stated her name more audibly as she struggled slightly under his hand. He could feel the intensity in the flinching of her muscles.

"Wake up damn it," then suddenly her eyes shot open as she inhaled in a deep crying gasp "STOP!"

Grimmjow almost jumped from her sudden loud reaction as he took in a gulp from her rather daunting expression. Her hands were gripped tightly upon his hand and forearm as her mind tried to comprehend the difference from the nightmare she had just had versus the reality she had just awoken to as Grimmjow's features became clear to her. She wasn't expecting to be woken up let alone to the image of Grimmjow at her bedside and under his touch. They stared at each other in a locked gaze; Kein's eyes rather exasperated; his rather shocked, but silent.

"G-Gri—"

"…you picked a weird room to sleep in," he interrupted her as his expression calmed, his tone low and quiet as he tried to steer her thoughts away from her dream since it was obviously unsettling. Her grip on his hand and forearm lightened as he casually slipped it back into his pocket, standing up from the edge of the bed as his back faced her. Tears were still fresh in her eyes and he found it a tad unnerving to look at. He wasn't used to locking gazes with someone that wasn't during a battle of some kind.

And he was most certainly not used to locking gazes with a woman that was teary eyed. He began to take footsteps to the door as she stopped him in place, "Wait!" But she wasn't sure what to say beyond that as he turned his head, looking over his shoulder at her. "Take a minute to regain your composure. When you're ready, meet me out in the fields." And then he just simply left.

That was it? No rough commands, no barking or biting? Just a simple _take time to gain your composure_?

This was odd to Kein and almost a bit refreshing as this was the first time he had shown a little compassion to her even if it didn't last long. She could still feel the impression of his hand upon her shoulder as she touched it lightly, but this comfort soon easily faded as images of her nightmare flashed through her mind. She really needed to get a grip as she didn't want to make Grimmjow wait too long, but her heart was so _wrenched_ and she felt so _violated_, like poison running through her veins.

Taking a moment to ease herself out of bed she quickly ran back down the hall to Grimmjow's room as she immediately took in his scent that emitted from the doorway. It brought a little relief, but it wasn't enough for what she was looking for to clear her head. A chill ran up her spine as she held herself for a few seconds, not being able to rid the dream from her mind. It was so _penetrating_.

Thinking maybe washing her face would help distract her mind, she went to the bathroom as she bent over the sink, running luke cool water and then splashed it upon her face. She took in a deep breath as the temperature cooled down her skin, her racing heart beginning to beat more slowly to the still silence.

Reaching behind her she groped for a towel as she stood upright and gently wiped her face off, feeling the softness of the towel's fibers as they gently wiped away the water and sweat. Placing the towel down she then gripped the sides of the countertop, bowing her head as she starred down into the hole of the sink, watching the remaining water slink down inside it. She chuckled lightly as the little black hole suddenly reminder her of Grimmjow's stomach hole. She then smiled as she was finally calming down.

"I can't believe I dreamt about my death," she spoke aloud to herself. "But why…now? Is today…the day I think it is?" She wondered, not able to help but feel that for some reason it felt close to the anniversary of her death when in the living world. Her smile then frowned as the elevated discomfort began to rise more within her heart. No matter what she did, she just couldn't shake it away. Finally lifting her head she then peered into the mirror, but the reflection she saw was not her own as she was gazing into the green eyes of a man with red hair, the green eyes of Masaki Ichiron.

Her heart_…stopped_.

She let out a cry that echoed throughout the halls and chambers as she quickly as possible bolted out of that room and down the hallways, anything to escape that image. She felt for a moment that maybe she was going crazy as she ran as fast as she could until she finally made it onto the sandy grounds. And from the sandy grounds she had stepped foot upon the area caped over with the fake sky. Hunched over with her hands placed upon her knees, she panted for air as her heart raced faster than the speed of light.

Normally at a moment like this, she would be desperate to see Shiba Kaien; her lieutenant and closest friend, but having been dead for so many years this desperation soon switched over Ichigo. He was her shoulder to cry on, her embrace when she needed one, her sight of a calm and endearing face. However, with neither one around to be that piece of comfort, she soon desired something new, something bolder and headstrong, not so refined.

She wanted _Grimmjow_.

Having caught her breath, she stood upright and looked around, walking ahead a couple of feet as Pantera came into view, it jabbed into the ground so she figured he had to be nearby. "Grimmjow?" She audibly spoke out, trying to spot out that familiar shade of blue, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Ready to fight now?" His voice sounded suddenly behind her, sending a chill up her spine as she quickly turned around to face him as he stood quite a few feet away, his hands in his pockets as always and his hair in its usual morning-after style.

Normally she would answer back with a fiery perked up reply, but instead she just simply answered in a mellow tone, "Yeah." His eyebrows arched further inward as he barked, "What's with that pathetic look on your face, Marasuna?" Although he spoke with his usual gruff tone, it was more of his personal funny way of trying to snap her out of her funk since it was _clearly_ printed all over her face. Tossing her gaze to the side with a sigh she merely answered, "Nevermind that. Let's just go ahead and fight," as she tossed her gaze back at him, but he wasn't convinced.

"There's no way I'm fighting you since its obvious you're _bothered_ by that damn dream of yours. Consider it a day off, you won't get another one."

"No," she refused firmly "What did you just _say?_" he asked back in a low growl.

"I'll be damned if I'm going back in there. I want to fight you here and now! So let's get this started damn it!" She commanded in a more fiery attitude. He almost smirked as he replied, "That's more like it."

As much as he liked her talking with attitude, something about her was heavily _askew_. The look of determination in her eyes is different than it was before, like she was trying to _distract_ herself more than trying to _better_ herself. Something told him deep inside his gut instincts that this fight was probably a bad idea, but he decided to ignore the feeling _just this once_. How could he turn that opportunity down? She wanted to fight. He _always_ wanted to fight. Enough said.

Quick starting a lunge, he came at her with forceful fists as she returned the favor, putting up her hands and ready to pounce. They simultaneously blocked each other as her punch met his palm and his thrusting knee met her forearm. Pushing his knee away, she tried to hit his side with a swinging kick, but he blocked it with his free hand, the other still gripped tightly upon her fist. Using his gripping hand as leverage, she flipped her body vertically upside down as it twisted her hand out of his grasp as she then came down upon him with a spinning kick, but to her surprise he was quick to cross his forearms and block upwards, keeping him from plummeting to the ground.

Pushing her leg out of the way, he shot upwards into the air above her, curling his legs upward and then thrusting them down as his feet planted into her chest, a wad of spit flying from her mouth, her body plummeting towards the ground. He flashed stepped from behind her, ready to kick her directly in the back. She was quick to retaliate, but something held her back as an image flashed through her mind, an ever familiar voice haunting her in the back of her subconscious.

_"What's the matter you little bitch? Isn't this what you've been wanting for so long? HUH?"_

She gasped out loud as Grimmjow's kick planted against her back, touching mostly upon her indentation as she was sent flying upwards, an audible grunt sounding from her mouth as she was shot up into the sky. Grimmjow blinked in a bit of confusion. He _knew_ she could have easily blocked that. Did she take the kick on purpose like she did before with his Ceros? No…this wasn't on purpose or because she didn't see it coming. She missed the chance to block because of _distraction_. Something for a small instant had taken her attention away from the fight.

"Damn it!" He cursed in irritation as he flashed up to her level, Kein catching herself as she stopped finally and floated about, arching her back, her mind now occupied with the freshly drawn pain. He waited for her as she regained her composure, finding the fact that he wasn't attacking rather surprising not to mention his body language. He wasn't in a fighting stance of any kind as he simply floated with his hands in his pockets and the look on his face not at _all_ amused. She frowned as she barked in question, "What?" almost irritated that he simply stopped in mid action.

"What do you mean _what_? You're the one acting all damned depressed."

Her eyes widened as her eyebrows furrowed. "Punch the air, blast a building, do whatever the hell you feel like, but _we_ are _done_." His words made her choke as he floated himself casually back to the ground as he went over to Pantera to place it back in its sheath while Kein floated in the air by herself, a bit dumbfounded. Since when did Grimmjow ever walk away from a fight with her? Normally under right set of mind, she probably would have stepped back and did as told, but she argued the logic with the fact that she always found some form of peace when fighting, even if she was bothered by something. It was her way of getting it all out of her system, a way to let loose and let it all go. And she was damned if she was going to go back into his room with the image she saw in the mirror's reflection.

It _haunted_ her.

Not wanting to back down, she flash stepped in front of Grimmjow just before he touched his hand upon Pantera's hilt, taking him by surprise as he wasn't used to her being so defiant and stubborn. His gaze narrowed as the look upon his face was unchanged.

"Look, sometimes warriors have to fight when a bit emotionally stretched. What difference does it make? You're always talking about how I have to hold my own when in crippling pain so how is being a little _bothered_ any different of a circumstance?"

His face was just as stubborn looking as hers was, not really in the mood to listen to her whining or argue with her. However, she did have a point. Warriors have to survive _regardless_ of the circumstance. An opponent is not going to back down just because the individual they're fighting is a little _depressed_.

"We gonna continue this or what?" She further barked as he reluctantly gave in and answered, "Don't make me regret this."

Ah, there it was; his usual smirk as it creased across his face in satisfaction. His smirk was met with hers, "Tch, alright…" as he got in a battle stance "…let's finish this." A short moment passed before they came at each other again, fists flying and intercepting each other's moves. He threw an upper cut, but she blocked as it impact her hands, sending her back up into the sky as he quickly followed after her. She flash stepped behind him with a spinning kick and he quickly flash stepped above her, locking his fists together and then violently swinging them down to hit her head, but she flash stepped yet again as their pace quickened.

She was actually keeping up with him, which he found rather odd considering that on normal circumstances on days when she was in a calmer mood, she found it more difficult to keep paces with him without the help of her mask. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all if she was indeed improving. What better way to fight than to create a habit of learning how to focus on your emotions as leverage to enhance your abilities? But something still felt off, unbalanced, and unrestrained like a ticking bomb.

His thought was interrupted as she blasted a Cero his way, Grimmjow barely dodging it at the last second, laughing aggressively, "HA! You sure you want to play _this_ game again?"

She grinned wildly in response, "First one to get burned loses!"

She fired another one, but he suddenly flash stepped behind her, a Cero waiting to blast off from his hand as she was engulfed in a red glow. She gasped as she rapidly turned around in response, instantly reading a counter Cero. He gasped, flash stepping away just as she fired it off. She was definitely more riled then he realized, but at the same time he found it refreshing.

With her attention taken by the fact he dodged at the last second, he came up behind her as she anticipated he would, turning around rapidly once again with a round housing kick to his face. He caught her foot, pulling her inward as he threw a left punch into her stomach. She coughed up a bit of blood as he rained a slew of punches into her before he finished off the combo with an elbow to her chest, launching her to the ground as she hit it with an unforgiving thud.

The pain surged through her body, struggling to stand, a red glow appearing from the sky as she shot her gaze upwards to see Grimmjow preparing a rather large Cero. She threw up a tired arm as she was determined to counter it, but just before he fired it off he quickly flash stepped to the ground, quite a few feet from her as he blasted a very strong quick shot Ceros towards her way. However, it was not Grimmjow that she saw blasting the Cero, it was Masaki with a crazy snide grin, laughing manically as another memory flashed through her mind.

_"Stop? You want me to STOP? YOU FUCKING CUNT! I'LL KILL YOU!"_

She was stiff…and wasn't doing anything about the oncoming Ceros. Grimmjow gasped as he realized something had frozen her still as he yelled, "MOVE DAMNIT!"

Seeing as there wasn't any second left to figure out what to do, he flash stepped to her as fast as he could, just before the Ceros hit as he clasped his arms around her, pulling them both to the ground as the Ceros blazed by, hitting a building in the distance with exploding impacts. Had he not got to her at the last remaining second, the Ceros could have severely damaged her or lopped off a few limbs, let alone possibly killing her. Held in his arms, Grimmjow slowly lifted his head up from Kein as he watched the Ceros finally disperse from the atmosphere as the sky faded back to its faked blue color. When all was cleared and quiet he stood up from the ground as he looked down at Kein who was sitting upright, looking in the direction where the Ceros hit.

She was simply shocked from the moment just as much as Grimmjow was infuriated that she simply stood still and almost got hit. "What the HELL'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?" He clenched his fists in bitter anger. "YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN KI—" his yelling cut short as she slowly tossed her gaze at him, her eyes shooting a stare that could pierce through souls as they began to fill with tears. She then simply got up from the ground ran inside.

"HEY! Son of a…fucking HELL!"

He was so angry that he was beside himself. Truthfully though he was glad she left from his sight as he felt rather implored to beat the living daylights out of her for being so stupid let alone kicking himself for ignoring his gut instinct to not fight with her to begin with. He should have just followed his hunch. Running down the many corridors of Los Noches, her quickly moving feet slowly stilled to quiet tired footsteps as she took her time making it back to Grimmjow's room. It used to feel inviting to her as she stared at the calmness of the room, but now she felt like an alien within it that badly needed to be dispersed. Not wanting to touch the bed or the couch, she sat at the desk that sat idly against the wall at the head of the bed as she folded her arms and dug her face within them, hunched over in the chair as she tried to contain herself. She felt like her insides were going to explode as silent tears seeped out from her eyes.

Minutes passed, possibly an hour as she sat there by herself until the sounds of footsteps echoed from the hallway. Just from the essence of the spiritual pressure alone, she knew it was Grimmjow. Part of her wanted to look up from the desk and check, but she didn't dare look him in the eyes, afraid that he was still infuriated. The footsteps stopped at the door as Grimmjow looked into the room, seeing Kein at the desk. He watched her for a few seconds as she didn't make a response, assuming that maybe she had fallen asleep. It was irritating just to see her, but he wasn't nearly as mad as one could imagine. He was actually pretty calmed down. There was something he wanted to discuss with her, but now was not the time.

Keeping to himself for the time being, he plopped upon the bed, kicking off his boots as particles of sand landed upon the floor as he stretched himself out with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. Moments passed before Kein finally lifted up her head, urged to ask Grimmjow a question that she's been wanting to ask for a long time now.

"Grimmjow, can I ask you something?"

The Espada didn't move or flinch in the bed, but he was indeed awake merely with closed eyes as he answered, "Yeah, what?" His tone was rough, but he didn't mean much by it although he was a bit irritated that their training session was cut so short, however it's just how he always talked and with Aizen and the other Arrancar's gone and out of the way, he was free to truly be himself as Kein was glad for and she did everything she could to make sure he never felt like he had to hold back, but in turn it greatly intimidated her.

"Do you remember anything about your past, when you were in the living world? I know you were there at one point just like me and just like all the other Shinigami's and Hollows."

Grimmjow let the question sit on his mind for a second as it indeed was an intriguing question no doubt, but there wasn't much of an answer he could give. "No, not that it matters. Arrancars are born from the combination of over 1000 Hollows and under that layer is combined Gillians and even under _that_ layer is lower ranking Hollows and then of course Human souls. With all those lives and memories combined, it all gets jumbled together and lost until it forms one final being. So no…don't remember a damn thing and could care less."

Kein sighed further as she wanted to open up to Grimmjow, but was too afraid to annoy him since he wasn't exactly an emotional guy of any kind and not as softer edged like Ichigo. She loved everything about Grimmjow, the good and the bad, but she missed being able to talk to someone that would gladly listen without retort. She missed talking to Ichigo and hearing his input or just feeling the warmth of his smile and presence. The more she thought about all of this, the more intense her insides became. If she was going to get out any relief, then it was best for her to leave. Getting up from the desk she walked to the side of the bed where the jawboned masked Espada could see her face to face. His eyes were closed of course, but he was listening even if it didn't seem like he was.

"I've been wanting to tell you something for a while now, but I didn't feel it was necessary to discuss as it feels completely irrelevant to training, but now…I can't run from it anymore since its caught up with me because of the nightmare I had last night, a nightmare about my past."

"Yeah, I figured. You'll get over it by tomorrow." Kein sighed even further as she turned her back and walked to the doorway as she stopped at its entrance. "I remember everything about my past, every detail and moment. I don't normally think about it, but it comes back to haunt me every now and again. I guess you're lucky in that regard. You don't have to worry about your past or really your future either. You make it however you want it without anything to affect you."

"Yep, that's pretty much how things should be. Can't do anything about the past and can't predict the future. All there is is the now." Despite the truth in Grimmjow's words, it didn't stop how she felt, how she was exploding on the inside.

"I wish I could say the same. The nightmare I had last night? It was about the day I died…the day I was beaten…the day I was raped savagely without mercy."

The word rung through the Espada's mind. _"Raped?"_ It was one of many words he wasn't accustomed to or used to hearing. He was perfectly aware of the many horrible lives that some Hollows had to live, but he never expected to hear it from a Shinigami's mouth. He didn't gasp, but in pure silence one could hear a flinch in his breathing as he opened his eyes and looked at Kein who was still standing with her back turned. He could not see with his own eyes, but tears began to stream down Kein's face.

"It was because of that nightmare that I wasn't able to train with you properly. My body can heal itself within a 72 hour period, but it can't regenerate limbs and Orihime isn't here to reverse any damage we both sustain while training, even if I can heal you myself. So you had every right to be angry with me for nearly getting killed. Please forgive me. I'm sorry Grimmjow."

Her words nearly choked on a sob as she had to bite her tongue to hold back, running away from the bedroom and down the halls of Los Noches. Grimmjow quickly sat up as he leaned back on his arms, a bit taken back by her words. He didn't know how to react or what to say and he assumed that if she ran away that she just needed time to be alone and recollect her composure, but what was he really to say to something like that with it being so brief and so lacking in detail? It was the first time she had opened up to him about her past. Sighing, he laid back down upon his back, crossing a leg as it rested upon the other's knee, closing his eyes as he tried to set aside in his mind what just happened, but once again something hit his gut with an uneasy bearing.

He grumbled at the feeling as it didn't seem to go away. He ignored a gut hunch before their fight, which he now regretted, but he felt it detrimental if he ignored a gut feeling a second time so he decided to go after her, keeping his distance in a quiet following manner. She had already made it a good distance away as he took quiet steps down the hallway following her spiritual pressure. It wasn't long before he had reached the area she entered as it was outside of Los Noches and upon the sandy grounds within the region of the sleeping white giant they occupied. He stood just behind the entrance in shadow as he cast a watching gaze upon her. She was a good feet away, but close enough to take notice of anything specific.

She stood like a ghost as many thoughts and images crossed her mind, remembering the last time she had a horrible emotional outbreak when she had taken Urahara's memory serum. She almost regretted the decision, but it was a necessary evil to uncover the depths of her personal issues. That was such a hellish night, having almost lost control. If Ichigo had not shown up when he did, and comforted her in his arms, she wasn't sure what would have happened. It could have easily been a repeat of when Ernesto took over her body for the first time, just before the incident with Rukia giving Ichigo her powers.

Having died so young in her youth, and not having the chance to truly come to terms with what happened to her and her parents, it was an inner demon that always lingered with her, rarely touched upon or bothered her, but when it did…it becomes _mentally devastating_.

Of all the memories she wished she could have forgotten was the details of how she died. It was so brutal and unforgiving, so merciless and _unfair_. It felt like a volcano was about to erupt inside her heart as she paced heavily back and forth upon the sand, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. Every negative emotion imaginable raced through her as she fell to her knees, clutching her head. She trembled and let out crying sobs, her head lowered almost touching the ground as she slammed her fist upon it as it dug into the rough grains. Her sobs soon turned to enraged yells as they echoed throughout Hueco Mundo like the cries of a distant Hollow trying to find its way back to rational understanding, but would never find contentment.

Clutching her head again she continued to yell in distraught rage as she sat upright with her head slung back as her Vizard mask suddenly appeared, hollowing the sound of her cries, her spiritual pressure significantly increasing as it began to alter and morph the atmosphere around her, a dark aura surrounding her body. What was at first uncomfortable just to watch from the sidelines, suddenly brought about a sense of worry as Grimmjow gritted his teeth. He had witnessed emotional sides to Kein, but nothing like _this_. And he was beginning to get a much clearer picture of just how in depth she was and how unbalanced and different from the others, but in the midst of this thought it was then images of Ichigo transforming into his Vasto Lorde form flashed through his mind like a blasting bullet.

It was a daunting transformation and he began to fear that at this point Kein could likely let loose her _own_ Vasto Lorde form. He wasn't quite sure if it was possible for her to, but it was a risk he did not want to take.

Kein's hollowed cries engulfed the air as she was still kneeling with her arms flexed out and to the sides with fists clenching so tightly that it drew blood, but just when she thought no comfort was in sight, no sense of being or rational, she was suddenly wrapped by hardened strong arms as the strange yet familiar warmth surrounded her and immediately the dark aura around her body faded just from the shock of being in an unexpected embrace, but it was not the same feeling she got from Ichigo when he hugged her.

No, this was a much different embrace; not in the essence of _loving_ or _friendship_, _sympathy_ or _pity_ but an embrace of simple understanding and stability that she could rely on and rest her pains on without fear of the repercussions.

It was…a _stronghold_.

Tears streamed out from her mask as her cries were replaced with a heavy silence, uttering but a single name.

"G-Gr…Grimmjow?"

Her heart raced as he kept his embrace on her until the storm of emotions calmed.

"It's not your fault."

She gasped audibly as her mask shattered off, revealing her wrenched, but shocked expression. She never thought that she would ever hear those words from him. She wasn't sure if he meant that it wasn't her fault for being raped, or that it wasn't her fault for what happened during their fight, but she simply didn't care. Straightforward words of understanding that didn't come in a harsh tone from the Sexta Espada himself were all she _needed_.

Loosening his embrace on her, their gaze was now met face to face as he kept his hands upon her arms. She hadn't seen this soft type of expression since she held Grimmjow in her arms to protect him after Nnoitra's sneak attack on him, but now the roles were switched. It created a connection between the two that neither could really rationalize nor understand, but it didn't matter. Her face cringed again as the sentiment from Grimmjow meant so much to her that she couldn't hold herself back anymore as she flung her arms around his midriff, digging her face into his chest as her tears slid down her face and upon his skin.

The move was unexpected as his arms were still out to the side, trying to comprehend this moment…this…_feeling_, but for the first time he just didn't give a shit anymore to over think it or to wonder why it was so strange to him so instead he simply rested his chin upon her head, placing a hand behind it as he used his other hand to lay upon her back, feeling her tremble. He thought the moment would irritate him, but it felt nice; to be able to interact with someone that didn't involve flying fists or bloody knuckles.

It's just pure and simple and…_innocent_.

He stayed silent as her sobs quieted to murmuring whimpers and the murmuring whimpers to exhausted and exasperated exhales as her body leaned into him, her weight heavier as she was succumbing to just wanting to close her eyes and sleep. Without hesitation Grimmjow simply picked her up in his arms and carried her back to Los Noches. His pace was neither quick nor slow as he walked down the corridors, Kein's arm laid limp upon her stomach as she had a hand upon his chest, feeling his scar left over from her attack during the war. It felt rippled and yet strangely soft. It was the first time she ever got to feel upon it personally, but being carried soon put her at an ease as she silently fell asleep.

He soon made it back to his room as he gently laid her down upon his bed. He was tired from the day's ordeal as he was sure she was even more so bushed. Sitting at the bedside he just simply watched her, sound asleep. Emotions began to surface inside him and he didn't know how to explain them except but with one word; _endearing_. He felt a bit closer to her and for once in his life he didn't feel so much like a loner anymore. Not only did he have someone he could train himself and mold into his own shape, but someone he could equally test his powers against. Not only did he have someone that understands the passion for battle, but also understands the much darker struggles in life that not many would comprehend; situations and bad comings that he didn't think many could relate to, but somehow Kein did and maybe one day he would open up to her as well.

However, it would be a very long time before he ever acted upon such a notion. For now he would just deal with the present like he _always has_.

The couch didn't even come to mind this time around as he purposely but unconsciously had left enough room on the bed for a second person. Kicking off his boots and striping down to his jacket, he got under the covers and laid next to her for a first time without feeling repelled away.

That night the two warriors slept as _kindred spirits_.


	6. A Shift in the Sands

**A Shift in the Sands**

The next day started just like any other day, but the two had woken with a much calmer set of mind. Kein slowly opened her eyes as all the pains from yesterday had disappeared almost entirely. She smiled as she saw Grimmjow sitting on the edge of the bed with his back turned as he was placing on his boots, his jacket still strewn on the floor, revealing his very tantalizing muscular back that was adorned with his number 6 trademark.

She watched quietly at the very slight twitching of each muscle that he moved to put on his shoes. She blushed and smiled warmly knowing that for the first time he had slept next to her. She hoped that with the events of yesterday that maybe this would ignite a new chain of understanding that would help to more and more establish her strange friendship and or un-established relationship with Grimmjow.

Standing, bending over and then putting on his jacket, he turned to find that she was awake. It made him flinch with a bit of a surprise as he could have sworn a second ago she was sound asleep, but then his expression hardened to its usual nonchalant attitude, but for some reason it didn't seem as hardened as before, she noticed. Slowly sitting up in bed she sat Indian style as she rotated her shoulders, popping a few joints as it helped her to relax, letting out a large yawn. She wasn't sure what to say except, "Morning." He didn't reply, but the sentiment from her was nice.

"So…what are we doing today? The usual fist fight?"

She put on a small smirk, but it was a light one at that considering she was still a worn out from yesterday. It was a strange look on her face, one he wasn't used to seeing and he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

"Just recuperate. I can tell you need to, only this time you _will_ mind my words. _Got it_?"

"Of course!" She immediately replied. He then approached the entrance to the room as she said his name, "Grimmjow?" He didn't face her, but he stopped.

"Thank you…for _everything._"

He then turned slightly in her direction as his face spoke of a solemn expression that was neither irritated nor repelled.

"You're welcome."

A moment passed before she asked, "Are you going to go train yourself?"

"Yeah," he replied as he turned back towards the hallways as she quickly got out of bed, "Can I sit back and watch?"

"Tch, do what you want. You might actually learn something," he snidely remarked in sarcasm as he began to walk down the hall.

"WHAT? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Damn it wait for me!" She barked back in playful slightly irritated banter as the same familiarity of spicy attitudes between the two quickly returned to normal as she gathered her shoes and followed behind him.

For some reason it wasn't until now that she noticed just how tall he was in comparison to herself. He was only 6'1, the typical height of a tall guy, but she was only 5'6. Not to mention how broad his shoulders really wear and his physique, although a swimmer's build, was much more muscular than Ichigo's. She chuckled on the inside at the thought of thinking as big of a guy as Grimmjow was, his footsteps were light and almost soundless…_just like a cat_.

In fact he was more like a cat than many would probably even realize; the way he always takes care of himself without depending on others for attention, only becoming excited when something actually took his interest, practically living in a liter box, and only hunting one prey at a time and played with it rather often if it took his interest. It made her giggle inside.

"Something amusing?" He asked out loud.

"Huh? No. Just thinking about some things," she replied with a big smile on her face. Walking down the hall however, her smile faded as she passed by a very specific chamber. Grimmjow looked over his shoulder as he caught a glance of her gazing at the space for a momentary instant. "What is it with you and that room?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You slept in it before. Do you even know who it previously belonged to?"

"Of course not."

"It belonged to Aaroniero, the _9th Espada_."

Kein gasped audibly as she stopped in her steps, looking back at the doorway of the empty chamber. Grimmjow too stopped as he turned and faced in her direction.

"What exactly is it that interests you about that particular Espada? He's long since dead and gone. You know that."

Her heart beat a little faster as images of her long since dead former lieutenant of squad 13 flashed through her mind. "It's a story you probably wouldn't care to hear," she mumbled almost without realizing, still staring at the room.

"I _asked_ didn't I?"

He retorted in a harsh manner as his eyebrows arched further in irritation. She then quickly tossed her gaze back at him. He wanted to know a little more about her? Or maybe it was just a cat's curiosity. Either way she was almost flattered he even bothered as she walked up beside him and smiled, the two strolling side by side as he listened.

"Well, back when I had become a Shinigami, there were 13 court squads, each with their own lieutenant and captain and each very specific with how they were lead, but of all the squads I could have gone into or requested, Squad 13 was the one I wanted the most. Its lead by my former Taichou, Ukitake, but what caught my interest the most was Lieutenant Shiba Kaien. There was something about him; his aura and attitude, but fairness and kindness. Was a great teacher and an incredible fighter…"

As she continued her story, Grimmjow was silent as her words slipped through his mind.

"…but his body was stolen and used by Aaroniero. Rukia had to fight him when we came here. I'm kind of glad she did because if it were me, I'm not sure I'd have the heart to get through the battle, but I guess even though Aaroniero is gone, it's like he still lingers and not necessarily in a bad way. He had Kaien's scent and the scent is still in the room. So I guess I'm still naturally kind of drawn to…"

"…tch, forget I asked," he suddenly interrupted her as he sped up his pace, walking in front of her.

Rather surprised by his reaction, she stopped while he continued further on ahead not really noticing or caring that she wasn't following behind. _"You've got to be kidding me. Is he jealous?_" She wondered to herself as she took up steps again to follow behind. He was the one that asked in the first place. He was listening just fine until she started mentioning having a natural affinity to Kaien's scent. It was an instant reaction that made him curl his lip and she couldn't help but wonder why, but he did however interrupt her at a critical statement she was _going_ to make had she had the chance to finish what she was going to say though it probably didn't matter at this point.

Not wanting to irritate him further, she simply kept a careful distance behind him as they finally made it to the outside, but surprisingly enough instead of the usual sandy backdrop, he instead picked the fake sky covered area. It was an area she would always pick, but this was the first time Grimmjow had chosen its location. It made her even more curious as to what was going through his mind at this moment.

Was he finally becoming accustomed to outside world appearances other than Hueco Mundo or was he actually getting tired of the mundane monotone atmosphere of the sandy giant? These questions filled her head as she waited for Grimmjow to pick a fighting spot before finding her own cover area to sit down and observe.

All was quiet as Kein sat up on a ledge next to a still standing wall that was only a few feet off the ground as she looked down upon the Sexta Espada as he withdrew his sword from its sheath, the metal glistening under the fake sky light and his eyes almost glowing from the reflection of the light upon the blade as he angled it sideways with his right hand grasped upon the hilt. Then with clawing like fingers his nails almost dug into the blade as it began to glow a light blue, his spiritual pressure growing immensely as a wind began to pick up around him. Kein watched with an anticipating heart beat. It had been a while since she saw him in his Resurrecion form.

Flexing his fingers just a bit, Grimmjow in unison yelled out, "GRIND…_PANTERA!_"

A chill shot up Kein's spine as it seemed like the atmosphere around them exploded into a brilliant showing of power as a stiff wind picked up and knocked Kein backwards upon the platform connected to the ledge behind her. She began to laugh audibly as she was too tickled funny to hold in the excitement, bringing herself back to the ledge as she knelt behind it, her arms resting on the edge of it as a big smile flashed across her face. And in a victorious roar she cheered at Grimmjow like cheerleaders at a football game, "HA, HA! YEAH, WOOOO! Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Now adorned in his Resurrecion form, Grimmjow was ready to dish out some serious damage, but not without looking over his shoulder at Kein who was obviously amused by the show, still rooting for him. He wasn't used to someone watching him train, but that big smile on her face he couldn't help but to take on as a grin creased his now naked mug that was wiped clean of the jawbone mask.

"Don't make me drag you down from there!"

She laughed again in enthusiasm, "Who said you had to _drag me_? I'm tempted to come down there myself and jump in!"

"Heh, in due time Marasuna. You'll have your chance to get ripped apart."

The two laughed as Grimmjow finally began his training as he leapt gracefully up into the air and started throwing lightning fast punches that seemed to push away the atmosphere just from the sheer force of his spiritual pressure with each swing. Even though the two hadn't trained at full powers yet, Kein could already tell a difference in his movements. They had vastly improved. She could barely follow him though in her regular form, but good enough.

She sat Indian style with her elbows propped on her legs and her head resting in her hands as she watched with gratification. She had thought about all the events that had led up to this point in time and never once could she have imagined being here and now with an Arrancar and not just any Arrancar, but the Sexta Espada himself.

First there was Soul Society…then…the Living World when accepted by Ichigo…and now…Hueco Mundo, the Hollow foregrounds. Many would consider that a progressing downgrade, but for Kein it was quite the opposite. It was a progressing _upgrade_, an initiation to being able to be by Grimmjow's side and for the first time in her life she found a contentment of sorts, a peace that she could feel and touch. It was relieving and she was _all his_.

Anything could happen now at this point, but she hoped that it would last for years to come and maybe one day if it was at all possible, she _and_ Grimmjow could be somehow accepted back into Soul Society. It was an extremely farfetched idea, but one can always dream.

Grimmjow spun his body around in the air gracefully, almost like a dance as his spiritual pressure pushed off the atmosphere when met by his hands or feet. As she watched each and every careful movement of his body she noticed just how more light on his feet his was let alone the fact that his feet were pitch black paws like a Panther's, but one could easily be fooled. Those black little paws could easily tear through flesh and bone if given the opportunity. One could almost say that they could cut diamond with enough scratching grind.

The claws on his fingers are just as deadly and just as sharpened, ready to dish out the pain if caught in their grasp. She easily fell into a trance watching him, studying him, and realizing just how great of a fighter he really was and how much more she truly had to learn. However, this peaceful moment of spectatorship was disturbed at the strange sudden gut feeling that something was _askew_. Her relaxed expression cringed into a wandering look as she tossed her gaze around, but saw nothing in sight nor felt anything peculiar and yet…

_…"Marasuna"…_

…that voice, her name spoken inside her head yet it sounded like it was all around her. Feeling a quickening uneasiness build up inside her, she darted as fast as she could off of that ledge as she cried out, "GRIMMJOW!" running up to him as he nearly fired off a Cero, it slowly fading away in his hand.

Normally he would be angered at an interruption in his training, but he knew Kein well enough to know she would never interrupt unless it was something important. He simply stared at her in silence as she looked around again before asking him, "Do you…sense anything?"

"Hm? Like what?"

His tone calmed, his eyebrows furrowing as he kept his attention on her, standing even taller than usual because of his Resureccion form.

"I don't know just…_anything_. Anything at all."

He let out an exhale through his nostrils as he looked around, opening up his spiritual awareness to see if anything caught his attention. At first there was nothing as he was going to bark back a snide remark, but then his breathing flinched as his eyes opened wider as he put his hand down from his temple, looking off in a specific direction.

"You _do_ sense something."

"It's extremely faint. There's no doubt about it now. I've sensed it _before_."

Kein gasped slightly, "You…have?"

Her eyes wandered for answers as he tossed his gaze back at her. "Yesterday, after that _dream_ you had, did anything strange happen, anything you saw or heard during our fight or before it even?"

Kein was silent as she simply replied, "Yeah…actually."

His gaze stayed firm as he further stated, "The dream bothered you. I get it, but I found it strange even _for you_ that it continued to bother you during our fight. You seemed to react at random, like something had caught your attention off guard even though there was nothing there."

Kein thought for a moment as she didn't know what to say, trying to remember all the moments of yesterday that she heard or saw something.

"Well? Am I right?" He asked again in interruption of her thought. Kein then looked up as she replied, "Yes, but…its gonna sound weird to expl—"

"…doesn't matter."

"Well…the man that killed me…in my living youth? I saw him…twice and I kept seeing past images of the event of my death. It wasn't just like a normal flashback or anything though. It was like I could see it right in front of me in true physical form. And his voice…I could hear it in my head."

_-A Foreshadowing-_

Kein sighed deeply as she rubbed her face a bit, shaking her head in disbelief, "But that doesn't make any sense. He's dead and long since passed to who knows where." And then upon lifting her hand from her face, opening her eyes to look back into Grimmjow's gaze, everything around her was suddenly changed. She gasped wildly as she called out to him, "Grimmjow?" But there was no answer, however that wasn't the only thing that seemed missing. Los Noches itself was gone as well as the darkened monochrome sky. It was like she was standing in a white void of some kind, but still with sand beneath her feet. She bounced around like a bird stuck inside a cage as she looked around, but saw nothing but white emptiness. At first she thought that maybe she was inside her Inner World, but her Inner World was a graveyard, not a white endless void.

"Ernesto! Bankaguna!"

She called out each their names, but still no answer. "What the hell is going ON!" She yelled in frustration. She tried to sense out spiritual pressures, but she couldn't sense out anything. It was then she noticed however that her head felt a bit funny, her thoughts almost hazy and jumbled as she shook her head a few times to try to clear it, but then she noticed a figure in the distance.

She smiled, immediately recognizing it as she began to run towards it yelling, "Grimmjow! Man, bout time you showed up! Do you have any idea what's going—"

Her words were suddenly interrupted as Grimmjow fired a Cero at her. She barely dodged out of the way as she fell upon her back to avoid its shooting range as it blazed past her, inches above her body. When it had cleared, she slowly sat up as Grimmjow kept his distance, his gaze hard shooting and glaring as he finally spoke.

"Stay the hell _away from me_. You're too pathetic for me to even tolerate."

Kein gasped, "W-What?" In a questioning heartfelt tone. She swallowed his words hard, but almost in disbelief as it seemed so out of context and so…_sudden_.

"Look, I don't know who pissed in your cereal all the sudden, but we need to figure out what the hell is—"

"…I can't believe I brought you here. What a _waste_ of time and energy. You aren't worth a _drop_."

The words began to sink in deep as it felt like the words Kein had always feared Grimmjow saying, was now coming true.

"What are you saying, that all along this wasn't worth anything? Not even the battles we had during the war with Aizen?"

"You're damn straight it wasn't worth anything! So go the fuck back _home_ to your little Shinigami friends. I'm sure they could help pamper your _weaknesses_."

Normally, such words would cut right through Kein's heart, and they were just about to until Kein realized that his words felt so out of place and out of context. Instead of hurting her, it _enraged_ her as she snarled with a curling lip, teeth showing like a wild animal as she barked back in a hellish reply.

"WHAT? Are you fucking KIDDING ME? Bullshit! That is the biggest _bullshit_ I have ever heard! If the _real_ Grimmjow truly felt that way, he would have thrown in the towel on training with me a _long_ time ago. I don't know what the hell is going on, but you are definitely _not_ Grimmjow. _Nice try_ you damn fake."

Seeing as there was no other option, Kein summoned her Zanpakutou as it appeared out of thin air with sparkling affects, materializing into her hand. It brought about a great sense of relief as she was able to hold it, its essence connecting with hers as she gladly chanted out loud, "BANKAI!"

Switching to her transformed state, she took what was now a giant Scythe and slashed it downwards as the strange void around her pierced open like a rip in a dimension as she crawled into the slit opening, allowing herself exit through the strangeness around her.


	7. Penny For Your Thoughts

**Penny For Your Thoughts**

_-Beyond the Fear-_

One second Grimmjow was scouting the area for a strange spiritual pressure with Kein standing before him, and the next everything around him was simply _gone_. He gasped as he looked around to be surrounded by an emptiness that seemed to outshine Hueco Mundo's never ending silence. Los Noches was nowhere in sight and neither was Kein. All there was, was _himself_ like it had been on countless occasions before he formed a Fraccion and before Aizen ever came into the picture. All that seemed to accompany him was the sand that still stayed beneath his feet as he stood in this formless white void.

He was _not_ amused.

"Its _obvious_ this isn't real! Show yourself you damn coward!"

Barked as he did in his usual irritated nonchalant attitude, there was simply no answer, but then suddenly he felt his body contort and flick inside as it felt like joints had cracked suddenly on their own. It wasn't painful as it was more of a shock than anything else as he fell to all fours, a strange _old_ fear began to creepily grip his heart from the ashes of his mind.

"Nngh…w-what…in th'hell?"

Forced to his hands and knees, Grimmjow felt his power fading as his body began to change like it was de-evolving, his pure Arrancar form shifting in a downward spiral that ignited crippling thoughts within the Sexta Espada.

"N-NO! You've got to be fucking kidding me! T-This…this can't happen. I'm already AN ESPADA!"

And then without any given warning, his once human like appearance had morphed back to his original Adjuchas transformation as his hands and feet became pitch black paws and the jacket and pants that adorned his body were now merely white scaling, his shape downsized into Panther form.

"Son of a…this...t-this can't be…" as he looked himself over, his sword now gone, the fear within him began to rapidly grow in strength, his power diminishing. Soon enough his Adjuchas body began to soften like a nicely formed stick of butter slowly melting and losing its shape.

"No! NO!"

Then within the emptiness of the white void came a voice that seemed to ring out like a golden chime calling his name as the form of a female like maiden burst from the silence of the madness as it caressed Grimmjow's nearly formless face.

Darkness sprung out from madness and madness faded to reality as the white voids that entrapped the two were now gone. Grimmjow opened his eyes only in time to be able to register with his mind that he was enveloped in a red glow. And it was then he realized…

"A Cero! Sh—"

"—no time to explain!"

Kein suddenly shouted as she picked Grimmjow up, threw him over her shoulder and leapt immediately away seconds before the Cero impacted, causing an explosion as the wave of reiatsu pushed at them in mid air as the two nearly spun out of control. Separated, they stopped their bodies from flying further as they turned around and looked upon the ground. There were Menos Grande everywhere and Los Noches far in the distance behind them. It wasn't the Menos Foregrounds, but they were surely on the outskirts of Hueco Mundo.

"What the…how the hell did we get all the way out here?"

And just then Kein and Grimmjow simultaneously felt their powers decrease as they found it difficult to keep themselves up in the air.

"Nnngh damn it! Grimmjow, do you still sense that spiritual pressure from earlier?"

"No, it's completely gone. Who or whatever it was must have the ability of illusion, but they also must be extremely weak or they would have attacked us directly by now. I don't think they'll be coming back any ti—HEY WATCH IT!"

Before Kein had a chance to react, Grimmjow threw himself upon her, wrapping his arms around as he pulled her away from an oncoming Cero from behind and underneath them. Normally she would have sensed it on her own, but her senses were still a bit weakened as well as her power from waking up from the illusion she was in not to mention going inside of Grimmjow's and awakening him from his own. Her hands were placed upon his chest as he held her close out of protection, watching the Cero blast by.

Kein _blushed_.

She wasn't used to Grimmjow going out of his way to protect her. It was then Grimmjow had caught sight of yet another one and quickly flying at them from below.

"DAMN IT!"

Still keeping her wrapped in his arms, he speed stepped them both down to the ground below, releasing her from his hold as they stood upon the sand. "We need to take these things out or they'll follow us back to Los Noches."

"Right!"

Although their powers had been drained to an extent, they still had plenty left over to take out the wandering group of Menos Grande.

"BAN…KAI!"

"_GRIND!_…PANTERA!"

Their powers enveloped in unison as it exploded from where they stood, Kein's sword transformed to a beautiful scythe and Grimmjow's body morphed to a similarity of his Adjuchas form. Lifting both his elbows, Grimmjow fired off his Garra de la Panetera as unevenly cut crystallized green stones shot forth, each targeted to a Menos in his sights. The stones exploded upon impact, easily taking out each one that they touched.

"Goukyuu Jigen!"

Kein called forth her attack as a frightening yellow silhouette of the grim reaper appeared and within seconds transformed into a slicing deadly reiatsu. Raising her hand and flicking her fingers downward in a clawing like manner, the attack separated into five different portions, each of them equally deadly as the other as they targeted five Menos Grande. The two went at it for about ten minutes or more before they had finally cleared the area. Back to their normal forms, they went about their way of making it back to Los Noches as they flew next to each other in mid air.

"My only guess is whoever attacked us, somehow managed to take us to an empty locale and lured the Menos to our location. The only thing _that_ suggests is they aren't strong enough to take us on. It's an Arrancar no doubt."

"I thought they were all wiped out?" Kein asked back in question, a bit surprised.

"It must have been one that Aizen didn't get to _or_ it's just _now_ evolving to that form. In that case, it's likely that it might be just testing its powers to see what they can do and to what end. It's a good opportunity since we're the only ones around here as perfect test subjects. Whatever the case I don't think it'll be bothering us again anytime soon, but just keep your wits about you."

The remainder of their flight was quiet more or less as Kein reflected back on the illusion she had seen. At first it didn't bother her too much, but now it began to truly sink in since there was nothing else for her mind to be occupied with.

_"I can't believe I brought you here. What a waste of time and energy. You aren't worth a drop_."

The words echoed and repeated in her mind, her teeth clenched as her face took on a forlorn expression. It only took a moment before Grimmjow had casually glanced at her for a second as he saw the look on her face. She didn't seem to notice he was looking in her direction as she was flying a few inches ahead of him.

_"What the hell is bothering her now?"_ He wondered in irritation as he kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to ignite what might be an awkward conversation, but it was then he also thought back on the illusion _he_ had encountered. It was disturbing and it was a fear he hadn't thought about in _decades_. It was still there however, lingering in the back of his mind even though it was impossible at this point for him to de-evolve.

"What did you see?" He suddenly asked her out of the blue.

Kein gasped as she glanced over at him. She wasn't expecting him at all to even bother asking her. Looking back in front of her, she let out a heavy sigh as her speed slowed down until she came to a final halt in mid air. Grimmjow soon stopped as well as he slowly floated over until he was a couple of feet in front of her.

"Well, get it off your chest so we can go back already."

Again, she was _shocked_. He actually wanted to know what was bothering her. He stood in a nonchalant stance with his hands in his pockets no doubt, but the expression on his face was a bit more softened then it usually was, but he was listening nonetheless.

"You saw an illusion, right?" She asked. _"More or less,"_ he answered simply.

They locked gazes for a moment before Kein cast hers away and to the side. She didn't want to particularly go into detail of what she saw; neither did she feel that Grimmjow wanted the long version so she summed up her illusion with just one question.

"If you truly wanted me gone…from here…you would just simply say so right? I mean…you would just flat out tell me to leave…if you didn't want me here?"

Grimmjow flinched, baffled a bit by her question as he felt the answer to it was rather obvious, but he reminded himself that his own illusion was just as _disturbing_ in its own way so it helped him to not be as impatient with her.

"Of course I would. What makes you think I wouldn't?"

Kein swallowed hard as her heart tensed. "Right," she agreed simply, but her expression spoke otherwise as it didn't seem like she was entirely convinced.

"Kein..." he stated her name without a hint of harshness to it as he imagined the level of discomfort to her illusion "…I don't know what exactly it is you saw or heard, but it wasn't real. If I didn't want you here I would have kicked your ass out a long time ago. If I felt you were a waste of time then I wouldn't have even _considered_ bringing you here in the first place."

Casting her gaze back into his, she could see the sincerity in them. Grimmjow wasn't the kind of guy that would bullshit someone, neither did he have reason to so she knew that his words speak truthfully and full heartedly and it was the first time he actually admitted to stating she indeed was _worth_ his time. She then smiled lightly, finally casting her doubts aside. Seeing as he had gotten through to her, he turned his back as he readied to continue in flight, but not without first showing a rare once in a lifetime gratitude.

"By the way…"

"…huh?..."

"..._thanks_…for getting me out of that illusion."

He was _thanking_ her? What a rare moment to treasure when the great Sexta Espada humbled himself to show a little gratitude. And then she gladly replied, "You're welcome…Grimmjow," stating his name with a gentleness as she felt her heart grow closer to him.

It seemed that with each passing day, he grew a little less harsh and a little less gruff, his sharp edges slowly smoothing over, and his hardened exterior opening up just a bit for inside viewing to his thoughts and emotions that he rarely displayed. There was indeed so much more to this man than meets the eye, but most of all she loved the fact that he had no problem speaking his mind. He had no problem speaking up if something rubbed him the wrong way.

She didn't have to second guess anything she was doing because if he didn't approve, he would simply say so. That was how the Sexta Espada rolled; always direct, never shying away from his opinion on a matter even if he was the only one to speak out whether someone supported him or not.

By the time they got home, both were rather burnt out from the power drained from them as well as the power dished out to get rid of the massive group of Menos Grande. It was time to sleep as the two warriors put their weapons away, stripped off unnecessary clothing and refreshed in the bathroom after splashing some water on the face and wiping off any dirt or grime. Kein was the first to finish in the bathroom so she was also the first to hit the bed as she laid on the inside as she always did and listened to the sounds of Grimmjow still rummaging around.

She turned on her side to face the wall as she still couldn't help but to think about the illusion she was in. It was something she couldn't quite get off her mind and she didn't want the blue haired devil to see a still fresh expression of trouble on her face. The idea of annoying him in any way at this moment was the last thing she wanted to do.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep it away, but she didn't at all feel tired enough to conk out. However, in the midst of being in an emotional blur she felt the bed suddenly shift in movement as Grimmjow lay beside her, jacketless and only in his hakama. She flinched slightly, not at all expecting him to lie next to her in bed again like he did the night before. The night before she thought he only did so out of pity or because maybe he was tired of sleeping on the couch, but this time there wasn't really any reason for him to do so. He just simply _did_ as he wanted.

Grimmjow continued to shift about a few more times before he was finally in a comfortable position, which was his usual position when laying down; arms stretched back and crisscrossed behind his head while his legs crossed over each other, the right overlapping the left. She could always easily feel his natural body heat emanate from his side that was but an inch or two away from her own.

Finally goading her nerves to give in, she flipped on her other side as she faced Grimmjow. She glanced momentarily at him to find his eyes were closed, but he was at peace more or less.

"Grimmjow?" She spoke his name softly.

"What?" He answered back in a surprisingly calm tone.

"What did you see…in your…illusion?" She stammered out lightly.

A moment of quiet passed between the two as Kein further inputted, "You don't have to tell me if you don't fe—"

"…I was de-evolving."

Kein gasped slightly with an intent to listen more than ever for this was the first time he was going to finally open up to her and reveal just a small part of him, a small part of his fears that is taking into theory that his illusion was based off of a fear as well. The second he said _de-evolving_ she intuitively jumped to where he was going with this and automatically assumed his illusion having to most likely deal with the evolution of Hollows into Arrancar, but nonetheless she wasn't bound to interrupt him and so she listened quietly to him speak.

"Unlike Shinigamis, when a Hollow reaches an Adjuchas state, they have the chance of evolving back into a mindless Hollow if they don't continue to devour other Hollows to stay an Adjuchas. Once an Adjuchas evolves backwards into a simple Hollow, they'll never be able to become an Adjuchas ever again. When I had evolved, I never once looked back or even thought on the idea that I would ever become a simple Hollow again. I was determined to rise to become something more no matter what the cost and no matter how long it took, but the _fear_ and evolving back was always there, always lingering. It's the fear however, that drove me and it's the instinct that went along with it to survive. That's what happened in my illusion. It was a very old fear materializing in front of me. Heh, it's kind of strange to feel it again, but it's almost…_invigorating_."

"Invigorating?"

"Yeah…it's like…it reminds me of what it felt back then, feeling that fear always chasing me, but never once catching me and it's the only time in my life that I felt like I was the one being hunted. It was a game of cat and mouse that was an endless drive that kept me going that made me feel _alive_."

Kein smiled. This was the first time they had an in depth conversation that didn't evolve around what he could do to help improve her or what she could do to better their battles together. Normally any questions he had were directed at her and about herself, but never once to do anything with him. Everything he stated seem to bring the puzzle as a whole that pieced together the Sexta Espada and it further proved her impression of him when they had first began to battle back in Karakura town.

"It was also the first time someone wanted me as their king."

"Your Fraccionez?"

"Yeah."

"Do you miss them?"

The question sat upon the air before Grimmjow answered in a heavy exhale, "Not really, but…" his thought seemed to trail off as Kein finished it with "…it was nice to have someone follow you to the top…to be witness to your rise?" It wasn't until Kein stated it that Grimmjow realized, she was right. He was never one to actively seek out company from others as he usually just did things on his own, on his own time and in his own way, but there was a niceness to having a small group of Fraccionez follow him, never actually getting in the way or hindering his wants and needs. They simply followed without question and supported him without fear of ramifications.

Shawlong was the most supportive. It wasn't something he actively acknowledged openly, but he never forgot the moment that he barked out during one of the major chamber meetings when Ulquiorra and Yammy came back from the living world and Shawlong merely backed him up verbally without thought or hesitation. Yes, there indeed was a strange niceness to having his Fraccionez that a small fraction of him missed.

It was also within this moment that Kein had finished his sentence and thought for him that he realized just how perceptive Kein really was and he found there was a strange niceness that wasn't necessarily annoying or overwhelming to have someone by his side that saw things the way he did and was able to finish off his thoughts. Over the time she has stayed with him thus far, he was really beginning to see just how much she was like himself, through battle and attitude, through understanding of instinct and the passion and drive for pushing themselves to the limits to better their abilities or if not to better, then to at least refine what they already knew whether that meant advancing in power or not.

Yes, there was a strange niceness to her.

Taking his gaze from the ceiling, he then glanced down at her. She wasn't looking at him at the time but she could see a shift in the angle of his face in her peripherals as it felt like he was looking upon her, causing her to shoot her gaze upward as their eyes locked onto each other. A chill went up her spine as she couldn't get used to his electric blue stare. It was so piercing and so wild even in his calmest of moments. Maybe it was the attitude or the jagged rigid features of his mask that added aggressiveness to his face, but nonetheless his stare is one that many cannot easily forget. She blushed again as she tossed her gaze downward and then…with daring notion…she nudged up next to him, his heat mingling lightly with her own and her intriguing scent began to fill within his nostrils.

Once again, such a notion of physical interaction, even in the slightest that didn't involve bloody knuckles or cracking ribs, was strange to him, but he quickly got over it as her eucalyptus scent seemed to put him at a calm.

He opened his mouth slightly as a silent gasp escaped, not knowing what to really do with the moment, but for one second he couldn't help but admit she had an attractiveness about her let alone to mention she had blue hair like he did and her eyes had such a fiery color that matched her attitude. And the much closer fitting of her Arrancar outfit revealed more of the curvature of her hips with a classic hour glass shape. These thoughts seemed to hit him upside the head with a blunt blurry haze as he lowered an arm and was about to place a gentle hand upon her head, but he shook those thoughts quickly away as he got a grip on himself and let out a deep exhale, placing his arm back behind his head and closed his eyes.


	8. Denial of the Heart

**Denial of the Heart**

_-2 Months Later-_

With a good chunk of time having passed from endless training and the occasional break, it wasn't long before the skin on Kein's indentation began to callous over and in turn becoming much less sensitive than it used to be. Both their fighting techniques drastically improved in dodging, hand to hand combat _and_ sword fighting. The fear that once gripped Kein for so many years of her Shinigami life had finally began to fade as she feared less and less of her weakness being exploited, learning to fight _with_ her powers once again instead of behind them. Most of all the two warriors had slowly become even closer to each other through understanding in moments of battle, but also through casual small talk that took place in between as Kein revealed a bit more of what it was like in her Shinigami days when learning to satiate her love for battle as Grimmjow too also revealed just a bit more of what it was like during his Adjuchas days. Soon enough they both realized in their own ways just how much they were alike and it made their battles ever more fierce and aggressive as the drive to fight and overtop each other _grew_.

A day had dawned in the darkness of Hueco Mundo's sky just like any morning as only but the illumination of the moon shined through the small window into Grimmjow's room. Touching upon the Sexta's hair lightly made it appear like crystal blue ice, glowing in the dimness of the room as the light also shined down upon the blueberry next to him, making the white of her Arrancar outfit glow like a beacon in the darkness. He had only started doing this a week or so ago, but Grimmjow had finally grown naturally comfortable with just wrapping an arm around Kein as she would be gently nudged up against him, occasionally with an arm around his waist. Her skin was smooth and her hair soft as it lightly brushed over the edge of his arm as it curled around her back, giving off a delightful scent that he now looked forward to every night to ease him into a deep sleep.

Grimmjow was the first to awaken as he opened his mouth and let out a deep yawn, his eyes then staring up at the blank white ceiling. He felt at a strange peace that he hadn't felt for the longest of times, but he wasn't bound to question it or why he was feeling it. He then looked down, finding Kein to still be curled up next to him, gently sleeping under his strong warm arm. Lifting it up lightly he placed it's hand upon her shoulder as he gently nudged it.

"Kein," he softly in a low morning grumble spoke her name.

"Nnn," she muttered under her breath as she finally awoke, immediately smiling as she felt Grimmjow's warmth.

Slowly sitting up in bed she stretched her arms upward, cracking a few back joints in conjunction with a deep yawn while Grimmjow sat over the edge of the bed as he began to put on his boots. Not really taking into account how Grimmjow would react, Kein scooted up closer to him as she leaned her head against his back. It took him by light surprise as he stopped midway into putting a boot on, but then he simply chuckled and continued to go about his business. He didn't particularly mind, but he couldn't help but to let slip a jesting banter.

"Hey, do I look like a head rest to you?"

Kein merely chuckled back lightly as she replied, "Sorry, it's just I'm…really glad to be here."

Then lifting her head away she gently placed a hand upon his back as she stroked it along Grimmjow's shoulder blades, sliding her hand along while she got herself off from the bed and into the bathroom. After placing his jacket on and making sure Pantera was firmly placed between his belt and his hakama pants, he stated to her from the bedroom in a jesting manner, "I'll meet you out in the field, but don't take too damn long."

"Whatever you say _King_," she replied in sarcasm as she listened to Grimmjow's footsteps leave the room and echoed down the connecting hallway. When he had finally left, she gained a moment to herself as she looked in the mirror. As much as she had enjoyed the last couple of months, the last few days had left her with what felt like an _oncoming dread_. She couldn't quite explain it or why she was feeling it, but it was a _bad feeling_. She hated getting those feelings because they always ended up with something drastic happening either with things around her or things around her friends. She couldn't help but to dismiss the idea that it had anything to do with her and Grimmjow so she rationalized that it had something to do with Ichigo, but that made even _less_ sense. The war with Aizen was long done and over with. What could possibly be going on that could be just any worse?

Of course it had been quite a while since she had seen him last. Anything now could happen at this point especially since Aizen was still _alive_. The history of Soul Society has been running far more than the history of the living world and as everyone knows, history repeats itself from time to time. Who knows what new dangers or enemies lurk around the corner and that is exactly the reason that Kein is here and now, training with someone who understands raw instinct and how to overcome fears. She saw Ichigo's rise to power and she _refused_ to lag behind.

Not being able to figure out what was wrong within this gut feeling, she decided to toss it on the back burner for now and let it sit for a while before thinking about it again. Besides, she had better things to think about as she felt a genuine excitement today due to the fact that Grimmjow had stated from the previous fighting session that the next day would be training with her Bankai, which would finally get her a step up in training to be able to keep up with him. Although they had been going at it for a good couple of months now, she still greatly struggled keeping up with his regular form without the use of her Shikai, Bankai, or even her Hollow mask. It felt good to advance a bit further since the Sexta _finally_ approved that her progressions were good enough to take it to the next level.

After taking care of business in the bathroom, refreshing herself and finally woken up, she went out into the fake sky covered grounds to face her opponent, her trainer and her _master_. Walking out onto the sands the image of pure white topped with a blazing light blue came into sight as it stood profound and unmoving. It was an image she saw every time she stepped foot on the battle field and it was an image that _never_ got old. Excitement flickered inside her as a pleasuring chill washed over her body like an electrifying pulse. Her strength was building, her endurance was thickening, and her techniques _refining_; all of which she could feel with each passing week. It shot her confidence up tenfold and Grimmjow could see it. He could see it in her determined fire lit eyes and he could _feel it from her blade_.

When Kein first came out with him, she lacked in everything, more so than he thought and it depressed him to know that the opponent he faced three times during the war with Aizen was not as fierce in technique or ability let alone understanding of their power as she claimed. However, the _one_ thing that he saw in her that no one else even seemed to realize, not even Kein herself, was her monstrous _potential_ to improve and become something far greater than anything or anyone could imagine and it delighted him to know that he would be the first to witness this and all because of _his_ efforts. It was like he was the potter and she was the clay; forming her and molding her to what he saw fit. It was a strange twisted pleasure that brought both satisfaction and freedom from lonesome boredom in the endless sands of Hueco Mundo.

All this effort wasn't just for her however. It was never truly for her as it was mainly for _himself_, but even he could not deny the intriguing factor and usage of words she spoke when painstakingly convincing him to take her with back to his home in Hueco Mundo. And he most of all could not deny her unique abilities and power that was still so badly untapped. Through strengthening her, he was strengthening his own abilities. Because they were on equal grounds of their power levels, she provided the perfect testing ground to see how far he could really go even though she wasn't as powerful as Aizen or even Ichigo. The more she improved, the more it allowed him to hit faster and _harder_, letting him develop as well, becoming closer to figuring out the secret to Ulquiorra's _Resureccion Segunda Etapa_.

Upon coming into view, the first thing Grimmjow took notice of was her shit eating grin, a grin he rarely saw on her face, but he knew what it meant.

"What the hell are you grinning about?"

"The prospect of finally beating the _shit out of you_, what else? There's only so many times of getting my ass kicked before it starts pissing me off!"

The Sexta grinned back with a deep chuckle. It was words like _that_ that easily got him riled with excitement for the battle to come. There was nothing more pleasurable to him then an opponent with an instinct to _crush_.

"Ha, ha, ha, well then! I won't keep you waiting, but ground rules first; Hollows powers, weapons, and _Bankai_ allowed. No special techniques. Got it?"

Grinning wildly, she leapt into the air with a burst of speed, materializing her sword and screaming, "BANKAI!"

The split second transformation of her sword into a scythe instantly collided with Pantera, metal against metal and instinct against instinct, her reiatsu's dark flaming aura engulfing Grimmjow. The Sexta knew better than to test her strength against his thickened hierro. When they first met, her Bankai couldn't even touch him, but now her improvements and building strength allowed her scythe to easily make a decent gash in his skin. However, without her Vizard mask, her Bankai still _paled_ in comparison to his regular state of power, but that didn't stop her nor deterred her away. She came at him with a fierceness of a thousand warriors, her face drenched in fighting spirit and her blade dripping with the desire to cut down and devour souls. She was titled the _Grim Reaper Shinigami_ after all and she would be damned if her name didn't live up to its reputation.

Utilizing the block, Grimmjow lifted his entire lower body in a spinning fashion to kick her upside the head. She in turn elevated her left leg and blocked the kick with the side of her thigh. The counter was affective, but his blocking power was _immense_ as it threw her sideways into the air, but she just as quickly recovered in time to block a lightning speed downward strike from above as she only saw a second of Grimmjow in her upward peripherals. The counter was successful, but yet again the power difference was still fields apart as her body planted against the ground with a hardened thud in a ricocheting fashion as it equally bounced off from it, giving Grimmjow an ample chance to attempt at planting his foot into her stomach.

"Not this time!"

With a fierce verbal reaction she swung her scythe in a circular up and downward motion to the right, pushing on the bottom staff end of her weapon as the blades on the end of it struck against Grimmjow's foot just above the ankle as it knocked his foot away, but the heaviness of the upper part of her weapon swung it in a swift momentum for her to simultaneously plant the scythe blade into the ground and push herself back up to her feet. Not wanting to let a pause in the action occur, she fired a series of quick shot Balas that blazed through the air like spiritual pressure bullets. Using this as a distraction for Grimmjow, forcing him to dodge out of their way, she used the opportune moment to violently spin her weapon in her hand in a deadly circular motion before throwing it like a boomerang. Grimmjow was quick to counter it however as he fired a Cero at it that would also fire downwards at Kein. It was a counter distraction since he knew Kein would dodge out of the way, but what he _didn't_ plan on was Kein's weapon _still moving_.

Her Zanpakutou has the unique ability to not necessarily block attacks completely, but to cut directly _through_ them like a knife into butter. If it was made of a spiritual essence, then Bankaguna would slice into it directly as it similarly would with cutting through dimensional attacks or kidou. Like a storm that could not be avoided, Bankaguna spun through the air as Grimmjow threw up Pantera at the last second, colliding against Kein's scythe with a massive impact that exploded sparks, nearly pushing him through the air as this gave Kein ample opportunity to come at him. With a swift roundhouse kick, Kein's leg planted _firmly_ against Grimmjow's back, causing him to let out a stiffened grunt as he flew through the air. With lightning speed she went after him, rematerializing her weapon back into her hand. Stopping himself in midair he then used a push of his reiatsu to charge him back through the air and directly at her as the two warriors yelled their battle cries with weapons drawn, eagerly awaiting to clash.

_SLICE_

From opposite's ends meeting at the middle and then facing each other with their backs on opposite sides, their weapons had clashed, their blades slashing through flesh and a stream of blood shooting out equally from both ends. Quietly for a moment Grimmjow and Kein floated in mid air silently. A deepened cut had stretched from the middle of Kein's stomach and curving downward along her right thigh. A nasty lengthened gash started on Grimmjow's back, from the tipped curvature of her scythe, just above his six emblem branding and continued further downward along his right buttocks until it stopped at the middle back of his right thigh. Because of the nature of her blade, he had come in at her directly, but blocked her weapon at an angle and dove downward and under with his blade slicing along her body as her's in turn scraped along his on the opposite side. Both were equally in pain and bleeding, but that only further pushed their adrenalin like a wild animal that had been unleashed.

Blood…it was already dripping down her clothes as a grin creased her face. Dipping her finger tips into the blood, her skin was smeared with the element of surprise as she swung up her hand and chanted loudly.

"Gran Ray CERO!"

Grimmjow gasped in near shock. He knew she had hollow powers, but this was the first time she attempted at do anything stronger than a regular Cero. While his Gran Ray Cero appeared in a bright blue color, _hers_ appeared in a pitch black like death was being fired at him. He flipped his body sideways and fired a regular Cero that launched his body downwards towards the ground in a quick fashion, barely dodging her attack as it was nearly point blank, but it wasn't as big or strong as his own. However, he did not go entirely untouched as the entire front of his body gave off a strange translucent smoke and although there appeared no scaring, it felt like his skin was burning like acid.

"Good. _Very_ good. That's the first time I've seen you attempt a Gran Ray Cero. To be honest I didn't think you had it in you let alone had the _ability_ too."

Landing upon the ground just a yard or so away, Kein chuckled in near ecstasy. This was all so invigorating and made her feel _alive_.

"I love how your compliments are equally as _insulting._"

"Well considering you're not an actual _Espada_, I'm surprised you can use our techniques like that. You're becoming more like a _Hollow_ by the second."

As glad as Kein was to hear that Grimmjow was _pleased_, his statement took a strange grip on her, one that she couldn't quite tell if she liked it or just as easily was repelled by the idea. He was right though. She _was_ becoming more like a Hollow. She trained more on her Hollow powers than anything else. Of course they haven't reached the stage in their training that focused on personal powers yet, but _still_, ever since she gained her Hollow mask it was all she really focused on and it made her wonder if maybe she was turning into something else entirely. She was the only Shinigami in existence to have a mark on her body that resembled the Hollow's hole and she was the only Shinigami in existence to be _merged_ with another entity. These thoughts wiped her grin as it faded into a stern blank stare.

"_Hey_!"

She flinched at the sudden roar of his voice.

"Wipe that pathetic look on your face _Marasuna_. It doesn't suit you and we've only just BEGUN!"

It was time to turn it up a notch as his speed abruptly increased. He came at her in the blink of an eye as he appeared only a second in front of her and then disappeared. She gasped, barely being able to keep up with his movements as she could barely block his oncoming rain of slashes with his blade. The clashing of metal sparked rapidly, but his katana was much too quick for her much larger scythe as he managed to land quite a few slices all over her body until he finished his combo with a sideways kick to her lower back, impacting her hollow indentation. She let out a heavy grunt, spit flying from her mouth as she was catapulted into a nearby broken down building, crashing into it like a bulldozer. Pain shot up her back, not too terribly, but enough to keep her from moving too much. There was only seconds to react before she realized she was being surrounded by a reddened glow.

_Cero_

Angling her weapon with the top part forward and directly vertical, pointing at the attack coming her way, she held Bankaguna firmly in one hand as she placed up her other and fired back a counter Cero.

_BOOM_

An explosion erupted causing the entire area to be filled with smoke and debris. Grimmjow lowered himself down to the ground after barely dodging yet again another seconds-to-react-counter attack. His clothing was tattered and bloodied and there was singes and dirt all over his body. His hair was lightly ruffled and a small crack appeared in his mask. He was still ten times stronger than her without her Vizard mask to deal with his regular form, but she was still packing a wallop. A grin creased across his face as a small droplet of sweat slide down his sideburn. This is what he was ready for and this is what he had been _waiting for_. He could only imagine with anticipated enjoyment at the idea of what she would be once they reached the final stage in their training but these thoughts would have to be set aside as he studied in silence, watching the area for any movement or signs of another counter. There was none, but he decided to wait as the vicinity of the blast slowly began to reveal its aftermath. There was no more building, that was for sure and anything near it or behind it was also smashed to pieces or completely obliterated.

A silhouette of a figure finally came into the clear as Grimmjow was finally able to catch view of Kein who appeared to be nearly wiped out. Her weapon was staked into the ground as she used it like a crutch to lean on. Her clothing was also completely tattered and bloodied and her back most of all aching with a throb, but nothing that wasn't too unbearable. It wasn't nearly as sensitive as when she first arrived.

"That better be just a moment of rest because I won't accept a _quitter_ as a _trainee_."

Kein chuckled lightly as she replied in exasperation, "Is that right? Well you can kindly go _screw yourself_! I _never_ quit!"

"Good…" swinging his weapon out to the side "…because I won't LET YOU!"

He came at her again, but the training was already taking a toll on her considering the still _gaping_ difference in their powers as Grimmjow attacked her at _full force_. Their blades met with a vengeance as they continued to clash weapons, Grimmjow obviously much quicker as she was blocking most of the flanks and parries, but not without receiving more cuts upon her body. This didn't last long as the Sexta spun viciously until he swung his sword in a backwards strike. She managed to block, but her face was met with his leg, her body skidding along the ground until it ended in a barreling roll from the sheer force of the kick. Her body soon stilled to a stop as she was upon her stomach, her weapon laying just a few inches from her hand. Blood trickled down from her head as her vision blurred, trying her best to grab her weapon, but before she could reach it her forearm was suddenly stomped upon by a heavy boot. She cringed from the pressure on her arm as she looked up to find Grimmjow's shadow overcastting her.

"_Nice try_, but still not good enough to _hold your own._"

The smallest grin that Kein displayed was quickly cut down by the Sexta's tongue. As always, what seemed like a compliment only ended with a negative undertone. She never expected anyone to _hold her hand_, but you'd think by now that Grimmjow would show just a tad bit of encouragement especially with how far they had gotten. Even Shinji had better words to say to her during training than Grimmjow ever did. He normally talked like this, but over time it began to grind against her and his lack of support was beginning to surface a nasty _sting_. Her pride got pushed down along with her arm as he dug his boot into it. She grunted, desperately wanting to get back up, but was too exhausted.

"So that's it huh? Got no more fight in yah? Figures…but _whatever_. Get yourself cleaned up. I'll practice some more _on my own_."

Releasing his foot from her arm, he turned and began to walk away. She leaned on her forearms, pushing herself up lightly as she protested, "Hey! Wh…W-What the hell? That's it? We barely trained for even an hour."

He turned slightly in her direction with a nonchalant scowl, refuting back, "Don't be an _idiot_. Your energy is _spent_ thanks to that Gran Ray Cero you experimented with. That took a heavy chunk of your reserves. That was a _big_ mistake. Next time train on your own with new attacks before wasting them in our fights. That way at least you'll last longer."

"WHAT?"

Turning back he continued to walk away. Other instructors would be fascinated with a student progressing with an attack they had never used before and congratulate them not to mention it came out mostly successful, but _not Grimmjow_. Personally he was indeed surprised she could pull it off, but he wasn't impressed. He wasn't going to give her the verbal satisfaction if he felt it wasn't that significant, neither was it really his style to butter people up or to sugar coat over the reality. They either had it in them or they lacked the gumption. And if they lacked the gumption then he certainly wasn't going to waste his time further on the matter.

He was simply going to _walk away._

Once again her ass was kicked and once again a hint of a grinding disappointment settled within her. He was right, she shouldn't have used an attack she was completely unfamiliar with especially in the middle of training, but that couldn't be it. That couldn't be all that there was even if another day would come and another training session would ensue. She didn't enter each fight with Grimmjow like there would be another day. She entered each fight as if it were _her last_. That was the only way to truly gain anything from each experience. She couldn't take it lightly and neither did Grimmjow. It was the reasons for the cuta on her body, the bruises on her skin, and most of all the hardening of her hollow indentation. No, this was _not it_. She wasn't going to go _just yet_ as a strange fire lit in her that had never truly lit before until now. She found the hidden resolve she needed to push herself further as her eyes began to glow and a dark aura surrounded her body like the shadow of death had given her its cloak.

"G-Grimm…jow! I'm not THROUGH WITH YOU!"

Her voice whaled as Grimmjow turned back around with a fierce motion, gasping at the sight, a shiver running up his spine. It was like he was starring death in the face and then within seconds his blade _grinded_ against Bankaguna, shrouded by its dark aura as an enraged and yet wildly inspired Kein continued to bark her passion.

"Don't you DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME!"

Those words.

Those words he had yelled many times before at his enemies, but Kein was the last person he thought he would hear those words from. Kein always displayed a sense of dignity and pride about her powers regardless of what others thought, never caring about their opinion of her abilities. However, the one person she sought recognition from was Grimmjow and it was at this second he realized this.

"I don't care how many times I have to do it! But I _will_ prove to you that I AM WORTH FIGHTING! AHHHHHHHHH!"

He finally did it. He had awakened the warrior within as they clashed swords like Titans, fierce power against fierce power as Kein soon found that she didn't need her Vizard mask as much as she thought she did, finally relying on her true born powers of a Shinigami and Grimmjow was finally getting the opponent he always dreamed of being able to fight as it was raw pure instinct that rippled off Kein's scythe. Through anger she found an inner peace that allowed techniques to finally click in her head as she swung around Bankaguna almost flawlessly in scythe wielding form. With almost no effort she easily blocked Grimmjow's attacks while using the energy from the push of his blade to twirl her scythe with what seemed like a never ending rotation of counters and parries. In the midst of the weapon slinging, Grimmjow saw an opening just as Kein was lifting her weapon high, horizontally and completely leaving her midsection vulnerable. Twisting his blade he went for a lower strike as his blade swung from a downward position to an upward strike that would slice along her abdomen, but what seemed like an opening was merely a trap.

With second hand switching, her palms were now parallel along the staff part of her scythe, pulling it back downward to meet his blade as the push from his sword allowed her to effortlessly and _violently_ swing the heavy part of her weapon in an upside down curving motion as the tip of the blade…

…_pierced into Grimmjow's side_.

Slicing from the middle of the stomach up into his lung, the thicker end of the blade pierced further as it fractured a few ribs in the process and sliced through to the other side. Kein's stomach dropped as her master was stuck idly upon her blade, his blood trickling down the metal as he coughed a glob of blood. This wasn't just a simple stab of a Katana. This was a stab of a very _wide_ curved blade that had a long reach and a nasty serrated edge. Getting hit by it would be devastating. A horror hit Kein's heart as a sickening panic nearly overwhelmed her.

"GRIMMJOW!" She bellowed as she forced her weapon to dematerialize.

Without even second guessing, she quickly wrapped her arms around him as he began to stagger over, catching him just before he hit the ground, but with an unwelcoming notion, Grimmjow aggressively pushed her away, the move catching her off guard as she fell on her ass. Grimmjow was bleeding profusely as he could barely stand, towering over her in anger.

"W-Why are y-y-you stopping? FINISH THE FIGHT!"

Kein nearly gasped as she stood up and protested in tears, "Are you fucking KIDDING ME? This is _training_ not a fight to the death! I punctured your lung and ribs let alone your god damn heart!"

And in an even fiercer retort, Grimmjow yelled at her in a rage, "I-I don't n-n-need your GOD DAMN P-PITY!"

"IT'S NOT PITY!" Kein yelled equally loud as tears streamed down her face, catching Grimmjow by slight surprise as pain wracked his body and his senses dulled from the blood loss.

Not allowing more arguments to ensue, Kein flashed forth her Vizard mask.

"Hey! W-What the hell are y—"

"—SHUT UP!"

Rematerializing her scythe, she continued to chant her technique. "Rei de Karitoru," she commanded as tears continued to stream down her face from a mix of exhaustion, a small moment of panic, and a trembling emotional burst. The thought of loosing Grimmjow was _deafening_ as she began to summon a part of her soul and entered it within Grimmjow's body so it could begin to repair and heal him from the inside with the manipulation of her own reiatsu. She knew this would take a great deal of energy to perform, but she didn't care. She just wanted Grimmjow to be okay, even if it cost her nearly everything she had. This wasn't the first time she had used this technique on Grimmjow as the Sexta was already beginning to feel the soothing affects of her soul fraction within him, the pain dissipating and the blood returning to where it belonged.

He was still enraged for multiple reasons, but he was oddly struck by the tears in her eyes. When she looked at him with a tear filled gaze, it was something he simply couldn't ignore for reasons he could not understand or explain. He hated the idea of anyone pitying him, but he at least knew Kein well enough to know that it wasn't pity. And she was right. This wasn't a fight to the death and he didn't at all regret awakening something new in her that he had been painstakingly trying to obtain.

A moment of silence passed as Kein's energy was draining rapidly, but Grimmjow's body and composure was just as quickly regaining its stiffened nonchalant stance as he placed Pantera back in its sheath, watching her with a piercing silent gaze. Her eyes were becoming heavy as she stared off into space, huffing and puffing for air.

"I-I-I…can heal your wounds, but i-if you actually _died_ I wouldn't be able to bring you back like Orihime can. That's why I panicked. It wasn't o-out of p-p-pity. It's just if…if something happened to you I…I…I don't know what I WOULD DO!"

The last bit of her words took Grimmjow by an irritating shock. She wouldn't know what she would do? What the hell was _that supposed to mean_? He couldn't comprehend the meaning behind her words. They were strange and almost _idiotic_. He wondered if maybe she was speaking out of some delusional state of exhaustion, but he couldn't ignore the feeling that she meant every word she stated.

She finished healing him, falling to her knees as her Bankai formed back to her regular state of power and her weapon dematerialized once more before Grimmjow finally spoke up, "What do you mean you _don't know what you would do_? What kind of pathetic statement is that? If I died you would _keep going_! You'd continue to train yourself and better your techniques and fighting until it makes you _bleed!_ You rise to the top and _stay_ at the top! _That's_ what you would do! I didn't train you for no _fucking reason_!"

It wasn't until now, until this very second that Kein reflected for a moment on the words she stated and realized that despite all other explanations, there was one reason above any other that Kein was so fervent towards fighting Grimmjow and following him here and being with him nearly every moment of every waking day. She tried to accept the feeling before, but it didn't quite make sense to her so she denied the feeling and the idea for so long, thinking that the fighting and the thrill of battle was enough for her…

…but it _wasn't_. There was that one other reason that drove all her motivation and decisions. It was the one reason she was here.

"I…I…" too exhausted from healing Grimmjow most of the way let alone dishing out and receiving serious damage, she collapsed to the ground unconscious.


	9. True to Yourself

**True to Yourself**

Kein awoke.

It was quiet…ever so quiet.

She looked around to find herself laying in Grimmjow's bed within his room, but Grimmjow himself was not present. She slowly sat up and realized her wounds had healed almost completely, but she was still in her tattered up blood dried clothing. This gave her the conclusion that she must had been out long enough for her body to naturally almost completely heal at its quickened rate and then memory flashes of her previous fighting session flashed through her mind.

She gasped.

"Grimmjow," she spoke his name softly as she got up out of bed and was going to go to the fabric room where all the previous Arrancar outfits were kept so she could change, but she stopped as she noticed her old rogue outfit sitting on the couch, folded nicely and sat idly. She stared for a moment at this image. It felt out of place and gave her a bad feeling. You'd think if Grimmjow was going to leave her new clothes that he would leave her just another Arrancar outfit, but why her rogue clothing? This did not sit well with her as a knot within her stomach began to tighten, but without further questioning the notion, she simply put on her outfit that she first came here in. After replacing her tattered bloodied clothes, she had the palpable sensation that the Sexta was waiting for her out in the fields and so going with this gut feeling, she simply left the room, down the hallways, and to the outside of where they had previously trained. And there, standing in the middle of the field under the fake covering sky stood Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

She slowly approached, not at all receiving a welcoming vibe as his expression was serious and nearly a glare. She could only imagine what he would say to her now, but she continued forward, undeterred as she finally was but only a short distance from him, standing in her rogue robes. The moment felt almost nostalgic since the last time she fought him in her rogue clothes was when they had their final battle during the war with Aizen in this exact same location. Not saying a word, she waited him to speak first.

"Why did you come here? Why were you so fervent on insisting that I take you with me?"

Kein blanked, nearly gasping at the question.

"What? You're _still_ questioning my reasons for coming with you? I already told you why."

"You're _lieing_. You're not telling me the full story. You're hiding something, I can feel it. So you better spit it out before I rip it from your mouth!"

His voice drastically raised in volume as it took her by surprise. What exactly was she supposed to say? What was she to explain that he would ultimately understand and not by repelled or pushed away by it? A moment of a pause surfaced between the two as Kein sighed and lowered her head slightly, looking towards the ground, finding more comfort in the never ending sands then to look directly into Grimmjow's piercing gaze, but she had every respect for him and wanted to tell him everything and so she raised her head once again, looking back into his eyes as she began to explain the depths of her thoughts and feelings, knowing that she probably would regret ever saying anything, but she could no longer lie to herself about how she truly felt towards Grimmjow and _why_.

"There is one other reason, above any other that I came with you, but I didn't lie. It's just, yesterday was the first time I realized what that other reason was and it was the first time I was finally willing to accept it let alone understand it and I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to figure it out. I will tell you what that reason is, but I must first explain the origin of this reason first if you'll let me."

Grimmjow narrowed his gaze as he was intent on getting an answer, regardless of what it was. He refused to be bullshitteded or lied to in any way. He didn't necessarily feel that Kein was deceiving him or manipulating him, but he would be damned to be played a fool if there was any hint of a wrong intention and so he kept silent to listen to her words.

"When I first laid eyes on you, coming from Soul Society into Hueco Mundo to escape being condemned to death, you could have just as easily killed me right then and there. You had every chance to, every moment, all the power you needed. That was long before I learned to harness the true awakening of my Hollow powers. However, instead of just taking me out, you merely stood there in curiosity, just like I did. You were just as curious as me, but then my garganta closed, leaving me no choice but to continue on my destination course. But…somehow I knew…we would meet again. There wasn't a day that didn't pass by that you didn't come to mind. I had too wild of a curiosity to meet you once more for reasons I honestly still cannot explain to this day."

So far so good. Grimmjow was listening, her words making sense to him as he recollected in silence on the memory of first seeing her up in the sky on that day. He couldn't help to admit to himself that yes, he was wildly curious to see in the middle of Hueco Mundo a random garganta open up in his area only to find that it was a Shinigami, and not an Arrancar, that was standing within its gaping dark cavity.

"It took some time, but you finally came into the world of the living when we least expected it and again we faced each other, finally able to introduce ourselves properly and then ensue within an amazing battle. Of course our power levels were vastly different back then and you practically pounded the shit out of me, but I never regretted that battle. I'll never forget the sensations of excitement you brought me to finally face someone worthy of fighting, to finally face someone who actually gets a thrill out of pounding on their enemy. My defeat at your hands only inspired me to become stronger, to better myself so that the next time we meet, you would be _proud_ to have me as an opponent just as much as I was proud to have you as _mine_."

The Sexta's expression softened ever so slightly as a slight grin nearly pulled at the corner of his mouth. Again he couldn't help but to be reminded of that first battle with her, greatly beating her to pulp only to see her bloodied face grin in ecstasy for wanting _more_ just for the thrill of the battle. She definitely had a way with words.

"You don't fight like others I have fought. I've met men….and women…who understand the basics of the instincts of fighting, but there's not many that are so refined in being a true warrior like you are. They don't understand that not every battle needs a reason, that fighting the way we do isn't just out of blind bloodlust. When you showed up a second time in the living world, I was enraged at the thought that Tousen took your arm. You were still just as deadly and just as capable of going up against me without it, but it infuriated me to think that you could fight me with every aspect of your body. The thought overclouded how I fought against you, not because I pitied you but because I just wanted things even in everything, just how when you first fought me that you allowed me and waited for me to enter my Bankai form. That's why, I didn't use all my powers against you and I guess for lack of better words, I was distracted and allowed the duration of my mask to simply disappear. I had an obligation to defeat you because of my obligation to protect my friends, but my desire to fight you was _stronger_."

At first her words were making complete logical sense, but now her explanation was delving deeper into something that Grimmjow was beginning to feel was going to be something he wasn't wanting to hear, but he still continued to listen, intent on having her get the entire story out so there would be no more doubts for him…or for her.

"I…" sighing to herself in frustration "…it was so confusing. So many thoughts were running through my head during that fight. When Ichigo and Shinji jumped in, it just made everything worse, but if there was one thing I _did_ want was to fight you one last time. I didn't want Ichigo _or_ Shinji to lay a hand on you. It was _my_ battle, not theirs, but then Ulquiorra interrupted and took you back just like Tousen and I knew then that I was determined to have one last fight with you. I didn't know how the situation would present itself or if it would even happen, but I wanted to feel that thrill again, that sensation of satisfaction in blood spilt, fists flying, and swords clashing, true technique and power displayed, all the cards laid on the table with no bars held. And then, Orhime was taken. Of course the priority of finding her, alongside Ichigo and the others was first and at the top of my list, but I had every intention of finding you along the way. And then, opportunity knocked."

The girl was longwinded, but Grimmjow expected as such since what she was explaining could not be explained in simple terms or short ended words. It was an explanation that would take a good amount of time to go over and he was all the more ready for it as he continued to listen without response. However, again he couldn't help but admit to himself that through memory of waiting to fight her again, he too was waiting for the opportunity. He never will forget the moment of finally finding Kein again, having Orihime heal both her and Ichigo only so that they could both finally fight without interruptions and without anything holding them back.

"Our third battle had finally come. After all the time, all the training to face you for third time, I was truly ready. I was ready and willing to show you _all_ my powers and _all_ my techniques. Our battle was amazing. I couldn't get enough of it. I got lost within moments of blood and sweat, pain and aches. I got lost within the idea of finally defeating you and beating you at your own game, but then, maybe most of the way through battle I realized it was coming to an end. You wanted it a fight to the death. I knew it was a fight to the death before we began to battle, but the thought didn't really sink in until much later and I knew in that moment that this was it…it was going to end here. I began to realize that, in killing you, how much I would truly be losing. I didn't want to lose you as an opponent. I didn't want to lose my driving inspiration to become stronger and better. I just couldn't imagine loosing you. And even though these thoughts came to me, they still didn't make sense and only confused me further. I began to question everything entirely and couldn't understand why. I had defeated countless enemies before. I had taken lives either forced or because I felt their life would be detrimental to the safety of others, but with you, somehow it was just different."

Kein took in a deep breath. This was it; it was finally time to confess to him her biggest reason behind all her decisions that evolved around going with Grimmjow to Hueco Mundo.

"When I finally beat you in battle, I refused to let you die. For reasons I had yet to understand, I refused to kill you because I honestly had no reason to. It wasn't out of pity but because the thought of such a warrior like yourself to be gone would be such a waste. I didn't have the expectation of you joining our side against Aizen, but I at least wanted to give you a chance to get out from his grasp, to be free. When the fight with Aizen finally ended, it was then I decided that I wanted to come back here with you. I knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park coming back and I knew there would be blood…and pain…pain that I couldn't imagine, but through our fights I have learned more than I have in a lifetime, living, or dead. You've taught me things I could never imagine loosing and what I have gained is worth more than all the treasures in any of these worlds put together. And for that I don't think I could ever repay you, but within all the appreciation I have for the time you have taken to fight with me again and again, letting us brawl it out and enjoy pure raw instinct and most of all letting me share your space, I've finally come to realize that all along it was a lot more for me than just battling. I didn't know what to think at first or how to respond because I have never felt this way before about anything or anyone."

Again, it was long winded explanations that Grimmjow was more than willing to listen to. He had gotten this far in training with her so he wasn't bound to quit halfway through because of a kink in the situation, but nothing could prepare him for the answer she was finally going to give as she reluctantly spoke out.

"But, somewhere along the lines I realized I…I…" a pause in the moment "…_I love you!_"

Hell had frozen over. Grimmjow gasped. He was in genuine shock, but not necessarily in a positive manner. He knew her answer would be odd balled, but he didn't expect such a fierce warrior like her to belittle everything they had been through on the notion of something as trivial and ridiculous as _love_. He didn't quite know what to say as he gave no response, a chill going up his spine.

"Grimmjow…listen. This doesn't change anything. It—"

"—it changes EVERYTHING!" He yelled in impulsive interruption.

"What? How does it change anything? We can still fight! We can still train! It doesn't change a damn THING!" She yelled back just as impulsively.

Grimmjow could not express in words the conflict that was rapidly erupting inside him that he had never had to deal with before. It was a strange discomfort that he didn't fully understand. Of all the attachments he knew Kein had with other people through friendship, he was shocked to see that she could reach out deeper feelings for one individual and out of all those individuals she chose him, but despite this fact, he had spent countless hours trying to train with Kein, to get her past her weaknesses let alone his own so that they could fight in pure fashion of instinct and wits, but now…now somehow _love_ had seeped into the picture like some cockroach invading his home. And it was this very thought that out of first reaction impulse, Grimmjow commanded something he didn't quite want to command, but he simply couldn't help it as the urge to say it was too palpable.

"_Leave._"

A jagged chill ricocheted up Kein's spine as flash backs of the nightmarish illusion she experienced was somehow coming to reality in a violent pace like some horrible foretelling, only this time it was _real_.

"I want you to leave NOW!"

"Are you SHITTING ME? Did you not hear the words I had to say? The reason behind them? Don't you dare stand there and tell me that you haven't enjoyed everything we've done to this point thus far! Why would you have brought me here to begin with? Does it really fucking matter what my reasons were for coming? What has it truly changed huh? I know you! I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do this shit with just anyone. So what if I…love you…I still want to train with you!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Kein was silenced once again as her heart raced with painful anticipation of his reaction. She knew it would be difficult to swallow but she never imagined the situation going so downhill and so drastically. Was he not even going to give it some time to sink in? Was he not even going to consider the possibilities? Did he not even remotely feel the same way?

"I want you to leave…and _never come back_. I won't repeat myself TWICE!"

Kein felt like she was shot through the heart, her rapid nervous beats fading quickly to a dead stop as she began to tremble. Out of all the pains she had ever felt, she never would imagine that anything could be worse, but now she truly felt dead inside, like a hole had been ripped through her. The thought of not being by his side was crippling now, more than ever.

"Please…please don't make me lea—"

"—do I have to beat you to a pulp before you'll get your ass OUT OF HERE? GO!"

"I WOULD RATHER DIE!"

Grimmjow gasped to speechlessness. She would rather die than to leave? No way, she wouldn't have the guts. She wouldn't have the heart to die _for him_ then to leave her Shinigami friends.

_"What did you just say?"_

"I…would rather _die_…then to leave your side, to not be able to fight with you, fight alongside you…I—"

"—Go."

"Grimmjow—"

"—I said GO! GO BACK TO THOSE _FUCKING SHINIGAMIS_!"

Without giving her another chance to speak, he blasted a Cero at her. She dodged to the side, allowing it to hit a wall a distance behind her. Out of a panic stricken fear of making him explode with anger, Kein finally left the battle field, never to return. Flying through the air out of the fake covered sky field and into the true plains of Hueco Mundo, she was surrounded by the unforgiving monotone darkness of the moonlit sky, full of emptiness and discomfort that now flooded her mind and heart. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe this was truly happening and she couldn't comprehend the thought of leaving. Her rationale faded to angry bitter hurt impulsion as instead of going back to the living world, she felt more inclined to take out her pain in the _Menos Foregronds._ Tears flowed from her eyes like waterfalls as her agonized screams echoed through the sky, bolting in lightning fast speed to the location.

It wasn't long before she had finally found it _deep_ within the undergrounds of Hueco Mundo. She had only been there once before so it brought her ease of travel to its darkened caverns and crystallized twig trees. The echoes of countless Menos Grande sounded through the immeasurable passageways as it acted as a calling beacon for her, following the cries until she was face to face with what seemed like hundreds of Menos Grande. She didn't hesitate to begin attacking, firing off Ceros in anger as red beams of destructive light exploded upon impact against these tall large black shadowed beings. One by one they fell to their deaths as her turmoil ensued in a rampage. Memories of her time with Grimmjow shot through her head like bullets and shattered like fragments of glass, thoughts that once brought a comfort to her now acting like a _poison in her veins_. She didn't want to regret anything she had learned or experienced through Grimmjow's training with her, but she simply could not ignore how she felt and couldn't find a way to try to pushing the feelings down. They simply exploded out of her through her powers.

However, because she wasn't fully recovered from the previous fight with Grimmjow, her energy was not as restored as it could have been had she healed for the full 72 hours. The destructive Ceros she was dishing out were merely taking a downhill toll on her and she could feel it drain her body, but she did not care. She just wanted her pain to stop as the fields around her leveled one by one until suddenly she lifted her hand to fire her umpteenth attack only to have _nothing come out_. Within a span of ten minutes or so, she had wasted all her energy and now could fire nothing. Her body had been exhausted and her reserves drained to a waste. Now, there was no way for her defend herself as she could barely stand. One could easily loose count of the vast numbers of Menos Grande she had taken out, but they still continued to come as she was slowly being surrounded, now at the mercy of these mindless beings. Their eyes glowed as their mouths filled with impending _doom._

But she _did not care_.

Kein knelt upon the ground as she awaited fate, closing her eyes until death would take her.

_-The Graveyard-_

It didn't take long before Kein realized that the moans of the Menos Grande had died to a peaceful quiet. Opening her eyes once more she found herself to be in a place she least expected to see. It was her Inner World. Although it had been a long time since she had been here, it was not the way she remembered it last. The once green and lush grassy plains were now a brownish field of withered death. The tombstones that used to be a light colored soft grey were now small darkened shadows with cracks in them, like their peace had been disturbed. And the once blue shining sky above was now darkened over with cracks of lightning shooting out in random strikes amongst the endless tear drops of rain that poured down. Last but not least, the figure in the distance she thought she would be confronted with was not Ernesto, but something else entirely. It was a figure she hadn't seen in the longest of times.

"B…Ban…kaguna?"

She was speechless upon laying her eyes on her one and only Zanpakutou spirit that silently stayed in the background of things as he always did. Tears streamed down her eyes as she got up to her feet and ran towards him. Bankaguna had no shaped mouth to speak or show emotion, but if he did then one would be able to see that he was smiling gently. Within moments Kein had embraced him, feeling just a small bit of relief from the agony she was encased in.

"Kein—"

"—it's been _so long_."

"I know and I'm deeply _sorry._"

He let her cry into his arms for a moment before gently letting go of his embrace on her, placing his hands upon her shoulders as she looked up at him with her still fiery lit eyes.

"I haven't spoken to you since Ernesto took over your spirit energy and maybe that was a mistake, but I feel at this point that I must step in Enersto's place and implore you to not let it end like this. Do not lose hope in the situation."

More tears streamed from Kein's eyes as Bankaguna's words echoed through her. She wanted to make it through this, but could not see how. This was the first time she had ever felt this way towards someone so strongly let alone _anyone_ at all.

"But Grimmjow—"

"—Kein, there is more to this than meets the eye."

Even though she was in her Inner World, she still felt greatly drained both physically and emotionally as she knelt down upon the ground out of exhaustion. Bankaguna did the same as he enveloped her within his robe and kept her within his warmth under the rain.

"What…what happened here?"

"Whatever you feel is reflected within your Inner World. When you are determined, fierce, and filled with hope, this place shines with a brightness that matches the sun and it is filled with a warm peace that reflects your strength in your beliefs and power, but when you feel turmoil or heartache, then the atmosphere of this place changes. When you cry, it rains here in darkness."

Kein flinched at the thought, looking up at Bankaguna as their expression matched an equal sadness. She wasn't aware of these facts that her emotions reflected within the world that Bankaguna occupied. The thought of shedding darkness over him hurt her inside.

"The one thing that Grimmjow wants is to make it to the top without anything to hold him back or get in his way. In knowing this, if he felt you were a threat to that goal he wouldn't have considered bringing you with him. In fact it has surprised me to see he has taken it this far knowing that you were only getting stronger, but it is also of this fact that I believe it is much more than what he will even admit to himself. He is a very proud man and there are many reasons for why a man like Grimmjow would avoid situations such as this. It is fear that takes his heart, but what kind of fear that is could be many possibilities or even a mix of sorts. To put time, effort, and care into something and to know the possibility of suddenly losing it to something as complicated as love would be devastating. You are familiar with pains such as this with the loss of your parents. You put effort into spending time with them, listened to them, and grew your relation with them and in turned ended up _loving_ them only to have it ripped away from you under violent circumstances. You felt a similar pain again with the loss of Kaien when you were a Shinigami. You put effort into trusting him, becoming friends with him, and in turn loved him as a brother only to have him taken from you in a gruesome manner. Today that pain still hurts you and yet despite these pains you still continued forward."

"Are you saying he's just afraid of losing me? Then why would he push me away?"

"What I'm saying is, he might be afraid to _love_ you, to give into something that is much deeper than what he's used to having. He has not walked the roads you have. He has been down similar paths, but he's usually done it alone. He doesn't have friendships like you do or feels close to others like you do and most of all he has probably never _loved_. The Human life he once had is one he will probably never be able to remember and so the only experiences he has ever had is the fight to survive, the fight to become stronger, and the fight to keep himself from being trapped by something that could cause him more hurt than he's willing to want to deal with. He is content with being to himself. These are the things that could be keeping him from reaching out in the manner you hope he will."

Kein merely sighed as she nuzzled her head into Bankaguna's chest. Everything he said was true, a truth that she didn't want to accept, but it just simply was how Grimmjow existed. He's a loner and always will be.

"However…" interrupting her nuzzling as she looked back up at him "…there are sides to him that completely contradict _all of this_. He is a warrior and a _hunter_. A hunter will spend years of it's life searching for the right prey. _You_ fulfill this desire of his because you are able to fight him one on one with respect and equal level of power. You push him just as much as he pushes you. You help him to become stronger and reach his goal just as much as he helps _you_ to become stronger and hopefully reach your own goals. This is what _drives_ him _towards_ you and not necessarily away. You are something rare that he has stumbled upon and he may not verbally acknowledge it the way you do, but the thought of losing that discovery to something like love or some other force would be maddening for him. Maybe along the way he could find someone similar such as yourself to fill that need for the right prey, but it will never match one such as you. You too are a hunter for the right prey, but you are also a hunter for the right mate. You have found _both_ within Grimmjow and he has yet to understand this just as he has yet to understand or even believe that he can have _both_ within _you._"

Her mind was beginning to open to his words as it felt like a new hope was opening for her, but there was still so much doubt and pain that she was feeling, finding it nearly impossible to consider another option out of this situation.

"What courage you have to seek in the hunt is not what he may have the courage or even desire to do himself. It is also possible that he does not care _at all_ or ever will care, but I can't help but to have been watching from the sidelines all along and to notice the interactions between you two. Life has a funny way of twisting the unlikely into reality and you Kein, are the one _twisting it_. Besides, even if you had realized earlier on of what you felt towards Grimmjow, it would have not played out the same. This is happening for a reason even if it hurts you with every depth of sorrow you could feel, but please Kein give it time and see where it takes you. You may come to find that Grimmjow simply needs time entirely to himself to reflect on everything that has happened thus far. This is not something that will happen all in one day. Afterall, it could simply be that he doesn't believe in your devotion to him. It could very well be that he is actually jealous of your relations with others that he does not have with anyone other than you and that this is simply the final test for you _and_ for him. But, if you do _not_ give it time, then it will only drive you closer to a permanent death and you may never see Grimmjow again."

It was true. There could be many possibilities to what Grimmjow was thinking _and_ feeling.

"But do keep in mind that there is no guarantee of him sharing the same feelings for you. Whatever it ends up being is what it's meant to be."


	10. Here With Me

**Here with Me**

_Silence_

_A soft awakening._

During her stay in Hueco Mundo, Kein found herself many times unconscious from the occasional brutality of her fights with Grimmjow, overuse of her powers, or the more commonly experienced overall exhaustion from both _emotional_ turmoil and _physical_ turmoil of bettering herself in every way imaginable. But of all the times she had ever reawakened from such unconsciousness in the same room under the same dim illumination from the moon outside the window, none of those occasions will ever match the essence of this _one moment_.

Like always, Kein became conscious once again. Her head as well as her body was dizzy and faint, like she had been out for _days._ Her eyes fully opened as she found herself starring at an ever familiar ceiling. First was sight and then came _sensation_ as she realized most of her body was covered in bandages, her robes stripped from her except for underwear and a bra, only but the bed sheet covering over her chest as she found it difficult to move. Her body was still fresh with cuts and burns that covered her from head to toe, except oddly enough her face. Her face was _untouched_.

She gasped as memories of what previously happened suddenly flashed through her mind, all of which brought a pain to her heart, tears easily filling within her eyes as she laid in the bed frozen still, the memories continuing to play through her head until they stopped at the moment she hit the Menos Foregrounds. She remembered entering and setting foot within the darkness of those caverns, but the memories come to blur.

She couldn't remember.

She couldn't remember what had happened _after she arrived_.

And how…

…how did she end up back here?

_Here_ of all places?

_Here_ that she was _forbidden_ to step foot on ever again.

And then a voice sounded from the darkness…_"Kein"_…catching her attention immediately. She knew this voice out of any other that brought a familiarity, but how could it be? This voice was the same one that banished her to leave and now it was speaking her name gently?

Sharply turning her gaze towards its sound, her doubts were wiped clean at the figure that sat on the couch on the other side of the room, the same figure that always cast its shadow on her, both in a protective manner _and_ under a watchful eye. It was Grimmjow as it has always been and there he sat, silently upon the couch the same way he did when she first arrived and she had first slept upon his bed as he watched her every move. It was a strange nostalgic feeling as his gaze pierced into hers. Slowly she sat upright as she continued to stare at Grimmjow with a blank and almost curious expression. She wanted to speak, but no words exited her mouth, finding it ever difficult to believe the current situation. Speaking of which, what _is_ the current situation? Why was she back here and what happened in the foregrounds that she could not remember?

"Of all the looks you could be giving me right now, you're giving me that _same_ expression as before."

Tears filled in her eyes as her body stayed frozen still. She didn't want to say or do anything that would interrupt or possibly duplicate what forced her to be banished again…_not again_.

"You don't remember anything do you?"

Kein tried to think upon it, but nothing came to mind. It was like a black void was pitted between memories like a hole that needed to be filled, but she couldn't fill it, shaking her head lightly in reply to his answer.

"You transformed."

She gasped.

"During your so called _rampage_, you quickly drained your own energy, leaving you without any means to fight back. A group of Menos Grande came out you and fired Ceros simultaneously. That alone should have killed you right then and there, but it didn't. It woke something up, deep within your Hollow powers and awakened the same type of being that Ichigo became when fighting Ulquiorra, however you weren't as mindless as he was when in that form. You knew what you were doing, even if you weren't completely conscious of what was going on. Somewhere deep inside you had a resolve that drove you and you would not stop until your goal was met. I had no choice but to intercept or you would have _destroyed_ Hueco Mundo or at least a good majority of it. I didn't have to do much of anything though. When you saw me, I guess it put you at a calm that allowed you to release the transformation. You fell unconscious and I brought you back here. You were bleeding all over not to mention burned in various areas."

_Destroyed?_

The word echoed in her head, but most of all the idea that she had finally reached a level that Ichigo had reached. Despite this monumental achievement however, it did not matter to her. She did not care. Nothing in the world of the living, Soul Society or Hueco Mundo could matter to her as much as this moment because now the situation had changed. Or did it? Did he bring her back because he changed his mind? Or did he simply bring her back to stop her from damaging his home?

"You're not…angry with me?"

Grimmjow flinched slightly. He just told her that she nearly could have destroyed Hueco Mundo under a new transformation and all she could worry about was him being angry with her?

_…females_…_oi_…

Standing to his feet with his hands in his pockets like they always were he approached the doorway as he stood within it and answered back, "What you did was _stupid beyond belief_, but no…I'm not…_angry_ with you."

She watched his every move as she found his answering rather surprising not to mention the tone in his voice. It was relaxed, almost…_peaceful_. It was like as if nothing had happened.

"You're completely exhausted. Rest up for now."

And then he began to walk away, nearly angering Kein in an instant. That was it? All that training, all that time together only to end in a violent argument, nearly getting killed in the foregrounds and then to be brought back and told to _rest up?_ That wasn't good enough. Something was missing here and she wasn't going to settle for _resting up_. No ache or throb could hold her back at this point as she forced herself out of bed, yelling from the room.

"Damn it where the HELL are you GOING?! First you banish me and then you bring me back here and tell me to just rest up? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

Near desperate exhausted cries of tear filled anger echoed from the room as she nearly stumbled over on trying to get to her feet, but her body refused to cooperate as she fell to all fours with tears going down her face and dripping gently upon the floor, leaving behind blotted stains of inner hurt.

"You're not angry with me! So obviously something has changed! You didn't just bring me back here to heal so I wouldn't DESTROY YOUR HOME! There's more to it than that ISN'T THERE?! Damn it ANSWER ME! GRIMMJOW!"

What started as emotional tears began to fade into sobs as she managed to her feet again, struggling to the entrance of the room as it was only but a few feet away, however her equilibrium was off causing her a heavy dizziness like some horrible ear infection to throw off her balance. Her vision then tunneled as she was about to black out, but then she tumbled into something strong and warm. When the tunnel vision cleared she looked up to find herself being held up by Grimmjow's hands upon her arms, her hands upon his chest. The two gazed at each other for a moment before she spoke again, but in a much more quite tone, almost like a whisper, but filled with tears.

"There has to be more to it than that…so tell me! Tell me why!" Lowering her head as she grasped upon the front panels of his jacket. "Why did you bring me back?!"

Grimmjow simply sighed as he answered calmly, "You're so damn impatient you know that?"

A bit surprised by the tone of his voice she lifted her head again and looked up at him, panting lightly and still exhausted.

"I was _going_ to wait until you healed before discussing anything further. It's a bit difficult to talk with someone who's emotionally wracked and slipping in and out of consciousness."

His answer was direct, but had a hint of sarcasm to it. Then without given warning, he picked her up in his arms, which took her by surprise as she clutched onto him, trembling and badly needing rest. Carrying her back over to the bed and gently laying her back down upon it, covering her body with the sheet. Having calmed down a bit, she went about wiping away her tears and rubbing the sleep from her eyes as Grimmjow merely sat next to her over the edge of the bed, leaning over so that his forearms rested upon his thighs. He stared solemnly at the other side of the room in silence showing no signs of irritation or frustration. When he felt she was ready to listen he finally spoke.

"When I first met what would become my Fraccion, they looked down upon me because of my drastically smaller size for an Adjuchas form. They thought they could easily devour me, but I quickly proved to them just how capable I was of ripping them to shreds. Recognizing my abilities, they asked me to be their leader, their _king_. I don't know if they did this because they truly wanted me to lead them to a better path, or because they simply did it out of instinctive fear, but during their journey with me, they wanted to quit. They wanted to just _give up_."

Listening to Grimmjow talk about his past in his usual deepened voice was soothing to Kein, almost like she was being told a bed time story, but a story that was of a king and his exploits. It was a story she swore she could listen to a thousand times over and never be sick of it. Most of all she recognized the hint of disgust in Grimmjow's voice when he spoke of his Fraccion giving up. He _hated_ quitters because he himself was not a quitter. Not now, not ever.

"With you, it's _different_. You don't stay by my side for the same reasons they did. You acted on a completely different level of respect and attitude. When I first saw you up in the sky that day when the garganta opened, you didn't look at me like something that needed to be killed or set aside. You didn't look at me like I was some mindless Hollow that needed to be wiped out. You, a _Shinigami_ looked at me with a curiosity that you badly wanted to explore and get to know, not something you wanted to immediately crush. Ever since that day, you continued to fight me like an _equal_, doing everything you could to prove that you looked at me as an opponent that will always push you on the edge no matter how much stronger we both become."

Looking over his shoulder, he gazed at her as they both caught each other's sight. She couldn't get over the calmness in his eyes. It was so peaceful that it put a calm within _herself_ as he continued on, tossing his gaze back at the middle of the room.

"Most of all, you have proven to me you're not a quitter. There were plenty of moments where you could have easily quit, moments I thought for sure you would quit, but you simply kept going. You say you're going to do something and it happens, even if what you're doing is _completely idiotic_."

Kein sighed lightly as she tossed her gaze away. Having a chance to reflect back on everything that happened, she felt ashamed and almost embarrassed of what she did. She wasn't suicidal, but she merely reacted on impulse. She just couldn't imagine not being by Grimmjow's side and the thought of being cut off from him, even if he was alive, was just unbearable.

"I'll admit, I thought _for sure_ you would go back to your _friends_ only to have what you're truly worth tainted by their _ignorance_, that you would just throw away everything I've taught you, have _pounded into you_ with sweat and blood. But you didn't. You would rather die than to forget everything you've gained here. You would rather die than to lose even more that you could uncover and make your rise to the top."

Kein closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a sigh through her nostrils in saddened disappointment. Out of everything that has ever been said, yelled, or shouted between them, did he still not understand her driving ambition above everything, the reason _for_ everything she did? The _one_ resolve that was behind all the others?

"That's not the only—"

"—I know it's not the only reason behind your decisions."

He looked back over his shoulder again as she too lifted up her head to meet his gaze. She had gotten through to him after all.

"But, it is _these_ reasons I have let you stay here, not just for the thrill of battle and not just for the shedding of blood, but because you are like me. You see things the way I do and you understand the things I teach you. You don't fight against it or question it, you simply absorb it and make it your own."

Kein was speechless. She almost couldn't believe the words that were coming out of Grimmjow's mouth. It was like a dream she could feel and touch. She struggled to do so, but she managed to sit herself up in bed as Grimmjow gave her a little room, readjusting his position so that he was turned more towards her until they were gazing within each other's eyes, their souls almost locking in place.

"Do you _really_ want to be by my side?"

The blueberry's eyes felt teary again as she answered a heartfelt, "Yes."

Grimmjow could almost feel the intensity in her answer, knowing that from here on out there would be no turning back. Whatever was to be decided was either now or never.

"If you're going to stay here…_with me_…then there are conditions you're going to follow or you can forget it."

"Just name them," she nearly pleaded, refusing to turn down any condition he was going to give her.

"The first one being; we're going to be doing _exactly_ what we've been doing for the last few months as if nothing has changed."

"Of course. I wouldn't see it any other way."

"Good because from here on out its only going to become more difficult, but I'm sure you were already prepared for that. The second one being; you will _not_ go back to Soul Society unless there is some strange circumstance that forces you to. I don't want those idiots given _any reason_ to come here. It's _not_ their home and I will _not_ have it butchered like it was by Aizen."

At first she thought the condition a bit strange, but with his further explanation of it, it then made perfect sense. She was an exile _anyway_ and the only real attachments she had to it was her Captain and a few friends. However, seeing what his first two conditions were, she could only imagine what the next one would be, and to be cut off from her friends in the living world would be an extremely difficult decision for her so she couldn't help but to immediately ask upon it.

"What about the living world?"

Sighing and exhaling through his nostrils as Grimmjow tossed his gaze away for a moment he answered, "It'll think about it. It's not like anything there is much of a threat not to mention I've been there before anyway."

Kein let out a sigh of relief, knowing that would not be completely cut off from Ichigo and the others, but _especially_ Ichigo.

"Is there any other condition?"

Looking back at her, his expression was a bit more serious as it sent a small chill up her spine.

"There is. It's the last one, but also the most important. You're probably not gonna like it, but it's a deal breaker."

Kein almost blushed at his choice of words. A _deal breaker?_ She was anxious more than ever to know what the final condition was as she listened with anticipation.

"You will _seek_ after _no one else._"

Her heart nearly stopped. Such a simple phrase had so many meanings. Not only was she being allowed to love him, but the fact that he didn't want her seeking after someone else simply meant that he saw her truly as his own, that she was his prey and his prey _alone_. A condition such as this would normally push away others by a fear of being trapped, but for Kein it was the complete opposite. She didn't deny that she could have feelings for other men, as she has before, but nothing compared to the sheer amount of effort she had put into be accepted by Grimmjow.

_Nothing could compare._

This was it. This is the road she would take gladly. He would be the hunter and she would be his prey. He would be the master and she the apprentice, both with the spirit of a warrior and both willing to do what it took to make it to the end.

For the first time Grimmjow was witness to a smile upon Kein's face, but this wasn't a smile of excitement for a battle to come or excitement of learning a new technique; no this was a genuine _smile_ of pure peaceful joy that he could see _and_ feel from her. He didn't think that she could so easily give into the conditions he gave, but she did and it surprised him. He had never dealt with someone that was willing to go _all the way_ just for him, to be a witness not just to her rise to the top, but for someone to be a witness to _his_ rise as well as a friend and as a _companion._

With a heart that has finally mended over, Kein wrapped her arms around Grimmjow's neck, embracing him closely and _warmly_. She was so happy that she could not describe the feeling as tears of pain was now replaced with tears of joy. Even in this moment, after having spent so much time with her, it was _still_ strange to feel these warm embraces, but he quickly put all doubts aside and didn't hesitate to embrace her back, gently of course since she was still heavily injured, but sincerely.

"Thank you…thank you for _everything_."

"I should be the one thanking _you_."

His response was unexpected as she slowly withdrew from the embrace, her hands gently placed upon his chest again as his hands lowered, the left resting upon his thigh, the right resting upon the bed. The moment was serene, only the sounds of their breathing could be heard.

"Kein…I…" he began, for the first time wanting to respond from an actual feeling in his chest, a feeling in his heart, but he wasn't yet ready. He wasn't quite sure, but Kein simply smiled as she looked down and gently took his left hand within her own, carefully flipping it so that it was palm side up. He didn't hesitate or push away as he allowed her to lift it and bring it to her face, its warmth cupping her cheek as she nuzzled into it, her skin smooth to the touch. This was so strange for Grimmjow, part of him still repelled, but not nearly as much as it used to be, the side of him that refused to accept. However, was it really so wrong or pointless to give into base desires? Was it any different than giving into base instincts?

"My king," she stated gently as her eyes met Grimmjow's gaze yet again, and then…he _smiled_ ever so lightly, causing her to smile more brightly. The moment couldn't be any more perfect than it was now. Another tear exiting her eye as it brushed against the tip of Grimmjow's thumb that rested upon her cheekbone, but he simply flexed his thumb and wiped it away.

"Get some rest…as much as you _need_."

And then without another word he got up from the bed and left the room with silent footsteps.


End file.
